Clinical Trials Search at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

This phase III trial compares the effect of cabozantinib versus combination dabrafenib and trametinib for the treatment of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer that does not respond to treatment (refractory) and which expresses a BRAF V600E mutation. Cabozantinib is in a class of medications called receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors. It binds to and blocks the action of several enzymes which are often over-expressed in a variety of tumor cell types. This may help stop or slow the growth of tumor cells and blood vessels the tumor needs to survive. Dabrafenib is an enzyme inhibitor that binds to and inhibits the activity of a protein called B-raf, which may inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells which contain a mutated BRAF gene. Trametinib is also an enzyme inhibitor. It binds to and inhibits the activity of proteins called MEK 1 and 2, which play a key role in activating pathways that regulate cell growth. This may inhibit the growth of tumor cells mediated by these pathways. The usual approach for patients with thyroid cancer is targeted therapy with dabrafenib and trametinib. This trial may help researchers decide which treatment option (cabozantinib alone or dabrafenib in combination with trametinib) is safer and/or more effective in treating patients with refractory BRAF V600E-mutated differentiated thyroid cancer.

This phase II trial studies how well cabozantinib works in combination with nivolumab and ipilimumab in treating patients with rare genitourinary (GU) tumors that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body. Cabozantinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab and ipilimumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving cabozantinib, nivolumab, and ipilimumab may work better in treating patients with genitourinary tumors that have no treatment options compared to giving cabozantinib, nivolumab, or ipilimumab alone.

This phase II trial tests how well nivolumab and ipilimumab immunotherapy with or without cabozantinib works in treating patients with nasopharyngeal cancer that has come back (after a period of improvement) (recurrent), has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic), or for which no treatment is currently available (incurable). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab and ipilimumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Cabozantinib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors. It works by blocking the action of an abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply. This helps slow or stop the spread of cancer cells. Giving immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab and targeted therapy with cabozantinib may help shrink and stabilize nasopharyngeal cancer.

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 tumor's 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.

A Phase II Study of Cabozantinib for Patients with Recurrent or Progressive Meningioma