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.

This phase II trial compares the effect of adding darolutamide to standard therapy versus standard therapy alone before surgery for the treatment of patients with stage II-IIIA androgen receptor positive triple-negative breast carcinoma. Standard therapy before surgery for triple-negative breast cancer typically consists of a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy drugs. Chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin, paclitaxel, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, 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. 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. Darolutamide is in a class of medications called androgen receptor inhibitors. It works by blocking the effects of androgen (a male reproductive hormone) to stop the growth and spread of tumor cells. Giving darolutamide in combination with standard therapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and may reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed.