Clinical Trials Search at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

This phase II trial studies how well talazoparib works for the treatment of breast cancer with a BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Talazoparib is a study drug that inhibits (stops) the normal activity of certain proteins called poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases also called PARPs. PARPs are proteins that help repair deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mutations. PARP inhibitors, such as talazoparib, can keep PARP from working, so tumor cells can't repair themselves, and they may stop growing. PARPs are needed to repair mistakes that can happen in DNA when cells divide. If the mistakes are not repaired, the defective cell will usually die and be replaced. Cells with mistakes in their DNA that do not die can become tumor cells. Tumor cells may be killed by a study drug, like talazoparib, that stops the normal activity of PARPs. Talazoparib may be effective in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

This phase II trial tests whether using genetic testing of tumor tissue to select the optimal treatment regimen works in treating patients with clear cell renal cell (kidney) cancer that has spread to other places in the body (advanced or metastatic). The current Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved regimens for advanced kidney cancer fall into two categories. One treatment combination includes two immunotherapy drugs (nivolumab plus ipilimumab), which are delivered by separate intravenous infusions into a vein. The other combination is one immunotherapy drug (nivolumab infusion) plus an oral pill taken by mouth (cabozantinib). Nivolumab and ipilimumab are immunotherapies which release the brakes of the immune system, thus allowing the patient's own immune system to better kill cancer cells. Cabozantinib is a targeted therapy specifically designed to block certain biological mechanisms needed for growth of cancer cells. In kidney cancer, cabozantinib blocks a tumors blood supply. The genetic (DNA) makeup of the tumor may affect how well it responds to therapy. Testing the makeup (genes) of the tumor, may help match a treatment (from one of the above two treatment options) to the specific cancer and increase the chance that the disease will respond to treatment. The purpose of this study is to learn if genetic testing of tumor tissue may help doctors select the optimal treatment regimen to which advanced kidney cancer is more likely to respond.