Clinical Trials Search at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

This phase II/III trial studies how well sentinel lymph node biopsy works and compares sentinel lymph node biopsy surgery to standard neck dissection as part of the treatment for early-stage oral cavity cancer. Sentinel lymph node biopsy surgery is a procedure that removes a smaller number of lymph nodes from your neck because it uses an imaging agent to see which lymph nodes are most likely to have cancer. Standard neck dissection, such as elective neck dissection, removes many of the lymph nodes in your neck. Using sentinel lymph node biopsy surgery may work better in treating patients with early-stage oral cavity cancer compared to standard elective neck dissection.

This is a prospective, multi-center, Phase II study of hematopoietic cell transplantation
(HCT) using human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched unrelated donors (MMUD) for peripheral
blood stem cell transplant in adults and bone marrow stem cell transplant in children.
Post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy), tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) will be
used for for graft versus host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. This trial will study how well
this treatment works in patients with hematologic malignancies.

This phase II trial studies the effect of lutetium Lu 177 dotatate compared to the usual treatment (everolimus) in treating patients with somatostatin receptor positive bronchial neuroendocrine tumors that have spread to other places in the body (advanced). Radioactive drugs, such as lutetium Lu 177 dotatate, may carry radiation directly to tumor cells and may reduce harm to normal cells. Lutetium Lu 177 dotatate may be more effective than everolimus in shrinking or stabilizing advanced bronchial neuroendocrine tumors.

This phase II/III trial compares the effect of adding chemotherapy before and after surgery versus after surgery alone (usual treatment) in treating patients with stage II-III gallbladder cancer. Chemotherapy drugs, such as gemcitabine and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving chemotherapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller; therefore, may reduce the extent of surgery. Additionally, it may make it easier for the surgeon to distinguish between normal and cancerous tissue. Giving chemotherapy after surgery may kill any remaining tumor cells. This study will determine whether giving chemotherapy before surgery increases the length of time before the cancer may return and whether it will increase a patients life span compared to the usual approach.

This phase II trial studies whether adding pembrolizumab to olaparib (standard of care) works better than olaparib alone in treating patients with pancreatic cancer with germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that produce tumor suppressor proteins. These proteins help repair damaged deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and, therefore, play a role in ensuring the stability of each cells genetic material. When either of these genes is mutated, or altered, such that its protein product is not made or does not function correctly, DNA damage may not be repaired properly. As a result, cells are more likely to develop additional genetic alterations that can lead to some types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Olaparib is an inhibitor of PARP, a protein that helps repair damaged DNA. Blocking PARP may help keep tumor cells from repairing their damaged DNA, causing them to die. PARP inhibitors are a type of targeted therapy. The addition of pembrolizumab to the usual treatment of olaparib may help to shrink tumors in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

This phase III trial compare the effects of adding definitive treatment (either radiation therapy or prostate removal surgery) to standard systemic therapy in treating patients with prostate cancer that has spread to other places in the body (advanced). Removing the prostate by either surgery or radiation therapy in addition to standard systemic therapy for prostate cancer may lower the chance of the cancer growing or spreading.

This phase III trial studies how well chemotherapy and radiation therapy work with or without atezolizumab in treating patients with localized muscle invasive bladder cancer. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Chemotherapy drugs, such as gemcitabine, cisplatin, fluorouracil and mitomycin-C, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving chemotherapy with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as atezolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving atezolizumab with radiation therapy and chemotherapy may work better in treating patients with localized muscle invasive bladder cancer compared to radiation therapy and chemotherapy without atezolizumab.

This phase III trial compares the effect of usual treatment of chemotherapy and steroids and a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) to the same treatment plus blinatumomab. Blinatumomab is a Bi-specific T-Cell Engager (BiTE) that may interfere with the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. The information gained from this study may help researchers determine if combination therapy with steroids, TKIs, and blinatumomab work better than the standard of care.

This phase II trial studies the effect of hypofractionated radiotherapy followed by surgery in treating patients with soft tissue sarcoma. Hypofractionated radiation therapy delivers higher doses of radiation therapy over a shorter period of time and may kill more tumor cells and have fewer side effects. Giving hypofractionated radiotherapy followed by surgery may allow patients with sarcomas to be treated in a much more rapid and convenient fashion.

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of a combination of gabapentin and ketamine and to see how well it works to prevent acute and chronic pain in patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy (chemoradiation) for head and neck cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced). Gabapentin is a medication that is commonly used to treat nerve related pain. Specifically, it has been used to treat pain involving the mouth, throat and nasal passages in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation. Ketamine is a type of general anesthetic that blocks pathways to the brain involved with sensing pain. This trial may help doctors determine how patients tolerate the combination of gabapentin and ketamine and to find the correct dosing for ketamine in those taking gabapentin. This will be the basis for a future, larger study to look at how effective this combination is at reducing and/or preventing pain in head and neck cancer patients.