Clinical Trials

The purpose of this research is to compare two different standard-of-care pre-surgical imaging methods. 

The purpose of this study is to compare proton craniospinal irradiation (pCSI) to involved-field radiation therapy (IFRT) for the treatment of breast or non-small cell lung cancer that has spread from where it first started to the cerebrospinal fluid filled space that surrounds the brain and spinal cord (leptomeningeal metastasis).

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is an increase in the time of a first occurrence of either: local recurrence, leptomeningeal disease, or symptomatic radiation brain necrosis in patients with brain metastases who receive SRS prior to surgery as compared to patients who receive surgery prior to SRS.

The purpose of this study is to compare the addition of stereotactic radiosurgery before or after surgery in treating patients with cancer that has spread to the brain (brain metastases).  

The purpose of this study is to compare stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) to whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in patients with 5 or more brain metastases.

All lesions 4.0 cm to 6.0 cm will receive 32.5 Gy/5 fractions and will be analyzed separately.  The portion of the trial is written as a phase II study without randomization noting the rarity of unresected brain metastasis of this size and the lack of comfort of treating radiation oncologist and neurosurgeons with single fraction SRS for tumors this large. However, noting the paucity of prospective data for this patient population enrolling patients on a clinical trial will provide a more accurate historical control for future trials.  Although this cohort was enrolled on the prospective phase I trial from ...

The goal of this study is to further evaluate the ability of fluciclovine PET to discriminate between radiation necrosis and tumor progression in patients with previously irradiated intracranial metastatic disease. 

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of sacituzumab govitecan in treating patients with HER2-negative breast cancer that has spread to the brain (brain metastases). Sacituzumab govitecan is a monoclonal antibody, called sacituzumab, linked to a chemotherapy drug, called govitecan. Sacituzumab is a form of targeted therapy because it attaches to specific molecules on the surface of cancer cells, known as Trop-2 receptors, and delivers govitecan to kill them. Giving sacituzumab govitecan may shrink the cancer in the brain and/or extend the time until the cancer gets worse.

This clinical trial evaluates the safety and feasibility of tumor treating fields (TTF) in the treatment of spinal leptomeningeal disease in patients with breast or lung cancer that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Patients wear the portable Novo TTF-200T device that produces electric fields to target areas on the body to stop the growth of tumor cells. The information from this study will help researchers develop a better treatment for leptomeningeal metastases in the future.

The goal of this study is to investigate the feasibility of successfully obtaining intra-operative OCT imaging and data during standard brain surgery.

The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility, and the strengths and weaknesses of using an innovative chaplain-led spiritual interview with participants who have progressive neurologic conditions, end stage renal disease, and other advanced diseases with the purpose of creating a Spiritual Legacy Document (SLD) for them; to identify spiritual themes expressed in the interviews; to describe the spiritual well-being, spiritual coping strategies, and QOL of the primary participants and their designated support persons with validated questionnaires at enrollment and after two weeks after being interviewed and two weeks after receiving their SLD; to describe the investigators’ growth in understanding the spirituality of ...

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and preliminary effectiveness of Optune®-Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy vs. Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation (PCI) in Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), a common disease with a high propensity for brain metastases.  Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) is a standard therapy for reducing the risk of SCLC brain metastases. While PCI is associated with added survival benefit to patients with SCLC, the approach is associated with both acute and long-term toxicity.  As an alternative treatment option, directed electrical fields to the brain using the Optune® device is associated with decreasing the risk of tumor progression ...

The study aims to characterize patient factors, such as pre-existing comorbidities, cancer type and treatment, and demographic factors, associated with short- and long-term outcomes of COVID-19, including severity and fatality, in cancer patients undergoing treatment. The study also is aimed to describe cancer treatment modifications made in response to COVID-19, including dose adjustments, changes in symptom management, or temporary or permanent cessation. Lastely, evaluate the association of COVID-19 with cancer outcomes in patient subgroups defined by clinico-pathologic characteristics.

The primary objective of this study is to determine whether stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) relative to whole brain radiotherapy with hippocampal avoidance (HA-WBRT) plus memantine for brain metastases from small cell lung cancer (SCLC) prevents cognitive function failure as measured by cognitive decline on a battery of tests: the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test – Revised (HVLT-R), Controled Oral Word Association (COWA) test, and the Trail Making Test (TMT). 

The purpose of this study is to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and/or the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) of WSD0922-FU in subjects with recurrent glioblastoma, IDH wildtype (GBM), anaplastic astrocytoma, IDH wildtype (AA) and CNS metastases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The study is a prospective, randomized controlled phase III trial, to test the efficacy, safety and neurocognitive outcomes of advanced NSCLC patients, following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for 1-10 brain metastases, treated with NovoTTF-100M compared to supportive treatment alone. The device is an experimental, portable, battery operated device for chronic administration of alternating electric fields (termed TTFields or TTF) to the region of the malignant tumor, by means of surface, insulated electrode arrays.

Intraoperative Microdialysis During Neurosurgery for Central Nervous System Malignancies

The purpose of this study is to determine the overall rate of response of brain metastases in subjects with central nervous system (CNS) metastases due to metastatic melanoma with a BRAF V600 mutation who have relapsed or progressed from initial or systemic disease.

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This is a multicenter randomized, open label study to evaluate overall survival with the Bria-IMT regimen in combination with Checkpoint Inhibitor \[Retifanlimab\], versus Treatment of Patients'/Physicians' Choice (TPC) in advanced metastatic or locally recurrent breast cancer (aMBC) patients with no approved alternative therapies available.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate SV-BR-1-GM in metastatic or locally recurrent breast cancer patients, in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor INCMGA00012 and the IDO inhibitor epacadostat. Patients who with advanced breast cancer who have failed prior therapies will be eligible to enroll in this study. The study will evaluate SV-BR-1-GM in combination with INCMGA00012 and epacadostat. Treatment cycles will be every 3 weeks with evaluations for tumor progression or response every 6-12 weeks.

The purpose of this study is to determine 3- and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) among patients undergoing pulmonary segmentectomy for lung cancer. Participants will complete questionnaires before surgery, between 2 to 4 weeks after surgery, and 6 months after surgery.

Biospecimen banks are a modern attempt to centralize collections of human blood and tissue samples along with health information and personal history. The Neuro-Oncology Program Registry and Biobank will be used for research purposes to increase our understanding of nervous system tumors.