Clinical Trials Search at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

This phase II/III trial examines whether patients who have undergone surgical removal of bladder, kidney, ureter or urethra, but require an additional treatment called immunotherapy to help prevent their urinary tract (urothelial) cancer from coming back, can be identified by a blood test. Many types of tumors tend to lose cells or release different types of cellular products including their DNA which is referred to as circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) into the bloodstream before changes can be seen on scans. Health care providers can measure the level of ctDNA in blood or other bodily fluids to determine which patients are at higher risk for disease progression or relapse. In this study, a blood test is used to measure ctDNA and see if there is still cancer somewhere in the body after surgery and if giving a treatment will help eliminate the cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab and relatlimab, can help the body's immune system to attack the cancer, and can interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. This trial may help doctors determine if ctDNA measurement in blood can better identify patients that need additional treatment, if treatment with nivolumab prolongs patients' life and whether the additional immunotherapy treatment with relatlimab extends time without disease progression or prolongs life of urothelial cancer patients who have undergone surgical removal of their bladder, kidney, ureter or urethra.

Malignant pleural effusion remains a debilitating complication of end stage cancer, which can be greatly improved by the introduction of the indwelling tunneled pleural catheter (IPC). However, there is no standard of care regarding drainage and limited data on the utility of different drainage techniques. In addition, many patients develop discomfort and chest pain during drainage. The investigators propose to evaluate gravity drainage and suction drainage on quality of life measures and outcomes.

This study is exploring the use of Panitumumab in Head and Neck Cancer. Panitumumab is an approved drug named Vectibix and is used as an anti-cancer agent in other cancers such as colorectal cancer. It works by attaching to the cancer cell in a unique way that allows the drug to get into the cancer tissue. In addition to the Panitumumab, participants will also receive a Panitumumab-IRDye800 (Pan800) or a fluorescently labeled Panitumumab infusion. IRDye800 is an investigational dye that, when tested in the lab, helps various characteristics of human tissue show up better when using a special camera during surgery. Panitumumab-IRDye800 is a combination of the drug and the dye that attaches to cancer cells and appears to make them visible to the doctor when he or she uses the special camera during surgery.

The goal of this study is to use a novel and possibly safer approach to identify an optimal dose for panitumumab to treat cancer patients by using a new light-based therapy. In this study, different drug levels will be analyzed using this approach to understand how much drug reaches the tumor at different administered doses, which may help us provide safer and/or more effective therapies in the future.

The goal is to identify the correct amount or dose of a drug that is needed for effective cancer therapies. Often, clinical studies look at how much of the drug can be tolerated before patients become sick, rather than how much of the drug is required to be effective.

IRDye800 is an investigational dye that, when tested in the lab, helps various characteristics of human tissue show up better when using a special camera during surgery. Panitumumab-IRDye800 is a combination of the drug and the dye that attaches to cancer cells and appears to make them visible to the doctor when he or she uses the special camera during surgery. This will help the surgeon with clinical margins during surgery and will may have a clearer way to differentiate between cancer and healthy tissue.