Observation Activity

This phase II trial examines the use of blood-based biomarkers is to help inform decision making for treatment and radiation therapy for patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) positive oropharyngeal squamous cell cancers. The standard treatments for head and neck cancers are radiation therapy with chemotherapy or surgery potentially followed by radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Giving chemotherapy along with radiation may kill more tumor cells. However, the cancer can recur or can spread to other parts of the body and all treatments can be associated with side effects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a blood-based biomarker, using the NavDx testing device, for head and neck cancers in order to see if it can help improve selection of the intensity of treatment in order to best balance the side effects of treatment with the goal of decreasing cancer recurrence. This test could aid in early detection of recurrence and salvage therapy.

This phase III trial compares the effect of dose-escalated radiation therapy to usual care in patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who have received an initial 4-6 months of chemotherapy. Usual care options include additional chemotherapy, observation, or standard lower-dose radiation therapy. These treatments may delay tumor growth but have not been shown to improve survival. Radiation therapy uses high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Dose-escalated radiation therapy involves the precise delivery of higher doses to the tumor, often over a shorter period of time. This trial assesses whether using dose-escalated radiation therapy can prolong survival.

This phase III ALCHEMIST treatment trial tests the addition of pembrolizumab to usual chemotherapy for the treatment of stage IIA, IIB, IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer that has been removed by surgery. 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. Chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin, pemetrexed, carboplatin, gemcitabine hydrochloride, 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 pembrolizumab with usual chemotherapy may help increase survival times in patients with stage IIA, IIB, IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer.