Clinical Trials Search at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

This phase 3 trial compares the addition of nivolumab to chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) versus usual treatment (chemotherapy alone) for the treatment of anal cancer that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin and paclitaxel, 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 nivolumab together with carboplatin and paclitaxel may help doctors find out if the treatment is better or the same as the usual approach.

This phase III trial studies how well inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND) surgery alone or after chemotherapy with or without intensity-modulated radiation therapy works in treating patients with penile cancer that has spread to other places in the body. Surgery is used to remove the lymph nodes and may be able to cure the cancer. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel, ifosfamide, 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. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. It is not known whether having surgery after chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy is better than having surgery alone.

This phase II trial studies the effect of the combination of ramucirumab and trifluridine/tipiracil or paclitaxel in treating patients with previously treated gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer that has spread to other places in the body (advanced). Ramucirumab may damage tumor cells by targeting new blood vessel formation. Trifluridine/tipiracil is a chemotherapy pill and that may damage tumor cells by damaging their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Paclitaxel may block cell growth by stopping cell division which may kill tumor cells. Giving ramucirumab and trifluridine/tipiracil will not be worse than ramucirumab and paclitaxel in treating gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer.

This phase II trial tests whether nivolumab and ipilimumab works to shrink tumors in patients with liver cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced), has spread to other places in the body (metastatic), or cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable). 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. Nivolumab and ipilimumab may be effective in killing tumor cells in patients with liver 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 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.