Clinical Research Directory

Image-Guided, Intensity-Modulated Photon or Proton Beam Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage II-IIIB Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

This partially randomized phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of image-guided, intensity-modulated photon or proton beam radiation therapy and to see how well they work in treating patients with stage II-IIIB non-small cell lung cancer. This trial is testing a new way of delivering radiation dose when only the tumor receives dose escalation while the surrounding normal structure is kept at standard level. Photon beam radiation therapy is a type of radiation therapy that uses x-rays or gamma rays that come from a special machine called a linear accelerator (linac). The radiation dose is delivered at the surface of the body and goes into the tumor and through the body. Proton beam radiation therapy is a type of radiation therapy that uses streams of protons (tiny particles with a positive charge) to kill tumor cells. Both methods are designed to give a higher than standard dose of treatment to the tumor and may reduce the amount of radiation damage to healthy tissue near a tumor.

Crizotinib in Treating Patients With Stage IB-IIIA Non-small Cell Lung Cancer That Has Been Removed by Surgery and ALK Fusion Mutations (An ALCHEMIST Treatment Trial)

This randomized phase III trial studies how well crizotinib works in treating patients with stage IB-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer that has been removed by surgery and has a mutation in a protein called anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). Mutations, or changes, in ALK can make it very active and important for tumor cell growth and progression. Crizotinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking the ALK protein from working. Crizotinib may be an effective treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer and an ALK fusion mutation.

Comparing Photon Therapy To Proton Therapy To Treat Patients With Lung Cancer

This randomized phase III trial studies proton chemoradiotherapy to see how well it works compared to photon chemoradiotherapy in treating patients with stage II-IIIB non-small cell lung cancer that cannot be removed by surgery. Specialized radiation therapy that delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor, such as photon or proton beam radiation therapy, may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel, carboplatin, etoposide, 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. It is not yet known whether proton chemoradiotherapy is more effective than photon chemoradiotherapy in treating non-small cell lung cancer.