Clinical Research Directory

A Study Comparing Perioperative Stress Reduction vs. Standard of Care in Ovarian Cancer (PRESERVE)

The purpose of this study is to see if propranolol and etodolac along with mind-body resilience training/MBRT and music therapy help participants who are experiencing physiological stress before, during, and after primary debulking surgery/PDS or IDS and also if it's better than the standard-of-care approach (no intervention for reducing stress).

The EASE Study: Randomized Trial of a Novel Approach to Addressing Fear of Progression in Advanced Cancer

Precision oncology has led to a growing population of adults with advanced cancer living increasingly longer lives in the face of profound uncertainty about the future, with over half reporting moderate to high fear of cancer progression (FoP). These fears are associated with anxiety and depression, over-use of healthcare, physical symptom burden, higher treatment regret, fatigue, and, in many studies, poorer quality of life. Moreover, FoP is strongly correlated with cancer-related trauma symptoms-physical hyperarousal, intrusiveness of cancer thoughts/images, and avoidance of cancer-related thoughts and feelings, suggesting overlapping symptoms. While behavioral interventions exist to target fear of recurrence in early-stage cancer survivors, there is a dearth of behavioral interventions to address FoP or cancer-related trauma symptoms in adults with advanced cancer, and no known published randomized trials of such interventions in the United States. In addition, cutting-edge developments for the treatment of trauma in general populations have not been adapted to cancer populations. To address these critical gaps, we adapted a cutting-edge behavioral treatment for trauma to reduce FoP and cancer-related trauma symptoms among adults with advanced cancer. The intervention, titled EASE, is based on written exposure therapy, an efficacious approach for reducing trauma symptoms in general populations that is better accepted and far briefer than other gold-standard approaches. EASE adapts this approach to help advanced cancer patients with elevated FoP and cancer-related trauma symptoms reduce their fear of the future by using written exposure focused on their future worst-case scenario with cancer. Informed by the NIH stage model, we evaluated EASE delivered by telehealth in an open pilot trial for 29 adults with late-stage cancer and elevated FoP and cancer-related trauma symptoms. Pilot findings show strong acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy potential. We now propose to conduct the first randomized trial of EASE, and, thus, first known randomized trial in the United States of a behavioral intervention for FoP and cancer-related trauma symptoms among adults with advanced cancer. This 2-arm trial (N=250) will compare EASE delivered by telehealth with Usual Care (UC). We aim to compare EASE to UC on FoP and cancer-related trauma symptoms (primary outcomes) and anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and quality of life, at post-intervention (Aim 1) and follow-up (Aim 2). We will evaluate mechanisms for EASE relative to UC (Aim 3). Offering EASE in both English and Spanish, and by telehealth, increases access. Simple content increases scalability. Rigorous evaluation of EASE has the potential to provide a paradigm-shifting intervention ready for dissemination and to inform evidence-based care guidelines for distressed adults with advanced cancer.

Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) Associated With Systemic Chemotherapy in Women With Advanced Ovarian Cancer

Women with a history of tumor response insufficient to allow complete cytoreductive surgery after three cycles of prior neoadjuvant systemic carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy will be prospectively enrolled in this phase I study. After providing written informed consent and confirmation of unresectable disease by multidisciplinary assessment, patients will undergo three cycles of combined chemotherapy consisting of Pressurized Intraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) with doxorubicin and cisplatin at escalating dose levels, combined with systemic intravenous chemotherapy using carboplatin and paclitaxel at standard doses. Treatment cycles will last 28 days, with PIPAC administered on Day 1 and systemic chemotherapy on Day 8, for a maximum of three cycles in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. Dose escalation of PIPAC chemotherapy will follow a Continual Reassessment Method (CRM) algorithm. The first patient will be treated at the lowest dose level, and subsequent patients will receive the recommended dose according to the CRM, conditional on the occurrence of dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) observed during Cycle 1. From dose level 7 onward, corresponding to cisplatin and doxorubicin doses associated with an increased risk of renal toxicity, sodium thiosulfate will be systematically administered prior to each PIPAC procedure for its nephroprotective effect, in accordance with the cisplatin dose level and current clinical practice. The primary objective of the study is to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of doxorubicin-cisplatin administered by PIPAC and to define the recommended dose for a subsequent phase II trial. DLTs will be actively collected and reviewed as soon as they are identified during the first treatment cycle. Secondary objectives include evaluation of pathological response, radiological tumor response, and changes in the extent of peritoneal disease following combined chemotherapy, as well as characterization of the pharmacokinetics of PIPAC-administered drugs. Additional exploratory objectives include assessment of the KELIM parameter as a predictive marker of sensitivity to combined chemotherapy and evaluation of the overall safety profile of the treatment strategy. On Day 1 of the first treatment cycle, blood samples will be collected for pharmacokinetic analysis of doxorubicin and cisplatin. Serum CA-125 levels will be measured before each intraperitoneal or intravenous chemotherapy administration throughout the study. At the end of combined chemotherapy, radiological tumor assessment by CT scan or MRI and a final CA-125 measurement will be performed. Patients achieving complete response, partial response, or stable disease according to RECIST v1.1 criteria will undergo re-evaluation for surgical resectability. If complete cytoreductive surgery is deemed feasible, surgery will be scheduled with a post-operative follow-up visit planned one month later. Patients with progressive or persistently unresectable disease will discontinue study participation.

Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Followed by Niraparib for Ovarian, Primary Peritoneal and Fallopian Tube Cancer

Patients will be registered prior to, during or at the completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy given per standard institutional guidelines +/- bevacizumab on Day 1 every 21 days for 3-4 cycles. Registered patients who progress during neoadjuvant chemotherapy will not be eligible for iCRS and will be removed from the study. Following completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, interval cytoreductive surgery (iCRS) will be performed in the usual fashion in both arms. Patients will be randomized at the time of iCRS (iCRS must achieve no gross residual disease or no disease \>1.0 cm in largest diameter) to receive HIPEC or no HIPEC. Patients randomized to HIPEC Arm will receive a single dose of cisplatin (100mg/m2 IP over 90 minutes at 42 C) as HIPEC. After postoperative recovery patients will receive standard post-operative platinum-based combination chemotherapy. Patients randomized to surgery only (No HIPEC Arm) will receive postoperative standard chemotherapy after recovery from surgery. Both groups will receive an additional 2-3 cycles of platinum-based combination chemotherapy per standard institutional guidelines +/- bevacizumab for a maximum total of 6 cycles of chemotherapy (neoadjuvant plus post-operative cycles) followed by niraparib individualized dosing +/- bevacizumab until progression or 36 months (if no evidence of disease).

Prehabilitation Care for Women With Advanced Ovarian Cancer Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

The purpose of this study is evaluate whether a prehabilitation program is feasible and useful for women with advanced ovarian cancer receiving chemotherapy in preparation for debulking surgery.

HOT: HIPEC in Ovarian Cancer as Initial Treatment

Community hospital based phase II (prospective randomized) study to evaluate the toxicity of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in newly diagnosed, otherwise untreated, advanced stage (stage III/IV) epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer.

To Explore the Feasibility of Dynamic Changes of TCR Diversity in Peripheral Blood in Monitoring Recurrence and Evaluating Prognosis of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

This project proposes to elucidate the functional impact of T cells in cancer progression and treatment through a comprehensive TCR profiling study and a longitudinal cohort study in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Our findings aim to provide clinical insights for monitoring treatment response in a non-invasive way and demonstrate the association of TCR diversity with clinical outcomes and the potential role of TCR profiling in cancer prognosis.

Alternative Dosing Of Niraparib To Decrease Dose Interruption In First Line Maintenance Treatment For Ovarian Cancer

The goal of this clinical trial is to test alternative dosing of niraparib in patients with newly diagnosed high-grade, advanced stage ovarian cancer. The main questions it aims to answer are: What is the incidence of hematologic and other adverse events? What is the incidence of dose interruption, dose reduction and discontinuation? What is the length of time of progression-free survival at 24 months?