Oncology (Medical)

Below are current clinical trials.

Filter this list of studies by location, status and more.

1. Recognition by Metabolomic Analysis of Serum of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to validate an NMR-based (Nuclear magnetic resonance) serum metabolite constellation for detection of early Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions in liver cirrhosis.

2. Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Patients With Newly Diagnosed Very Low-Risk and Low Risk Fusion Negative Rhabdomyosarcoma

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to maintain excellent outcomes in patients with very low risk rhabdomyosarcoma (VLR-RMS) while decreasing the burden of therapy using treatment with 24 weeks of vincristine and dactinomycin (VA) and examines the use of centralized molecular risk stratification in the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma.

   Additionally, to find out how well patients with low risk rhabdomyosarcoma (LR-RMS) respond to standard chemotherapy when patients with VLR-RMS and patients who have rhabdomyosarcoma with DNA mutations get separate treatment. Finally, this study examines the effect of therapy intensification in patients who have RMS cancer with DNA mutations to see if their outcomes can be improved.

3. A Study to Evaluate Colorectal Polyps with Dietary Inflammation During Colonoscopy

   Jacksonville, Fla.

   Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women in the United States (1). Colorectal cancer arises from colonic polyps. The major types of polyps associated with colorectal cancer development are adenomatous (tubular which is most common and other types are villous and tubulovillous) and serrated (hyperplastic, sessile or traditional) polyps with varying degrees of dysplasia (2). Hyperplastic polyps are common but they have a low malignancy potential (3). There is evidence that colonic inflammation plays a major role in colon polyp and colorectal cancer development. For example, inflammatory bowel disease is a major predisposing factor for colorectal cancer occurrence, implicating inflammation in the development of colorectal cancer (4). In addition,  obesity, a chronic inflammatory state, is associated with increased colorectal cancer risk (5). However, the use of anti-inflammatory agents in the prevention of colorectal cancer is controversial, although there is some suggestion that its use may lower colorectal cancer risk (6,7). Diet may affect cytokine levels and inflammation (8). Diet rich in trans-fat and sugar has been shown to increase pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNFα (9, 10) and the Mediterranean Diet has been shown to decrease inflammatory cytokines (11) and decrease the risk of colon cancer in an UK study (12). Recently, the EDII was developed and validated to assess inflammatory potential of diet based on the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) (13).  Here we propose to investigate the association between diet-derived inflammation, as measured by the EDII, risk of colon polyps during screening colonoscopy and colorectal cancer development.

4. A Study to Evaluate Advanced Development of Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Intraoperative Molecular Diagnosis of Brain Cancer

   Jacksonville, Fla.

   The purpose of this study is to explore the translational abilities of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) as intraoperative diagnostic tool to identify cancerous versus noncancerous tissue and estimate the percentage of tumor infiltration in tissue biopsies, by monitoring depletion of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and aberrations of the phospholipid signature of neurological tissue; and to identify the presence of IDH mutations by monitoring the 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) and, therefore, differentiate between IDH-mutant and wild-type gliomas.

5. A Study of Women undergoing Mammogram Screening at Mountain Park Clinic

   Rochester, Minn., Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.

   The goal of this research is to identify risk profiles of women (with particular emphasis on Hispanic women) for breast cancer based on family history, breast density and other factors known to impact risk such as age, weight, age at menarche, age at birth of first child, etc.

6. A Study of the Drugs Selumetinib Versus Carboplatin/Vincristine in Patients With Neurofibromatosis and Low-Grade Glioma

   Rochester, Minn.

   The pupose of this study is to evaluate whether or not selumetinib works just as well as the standard treatment with carboplatine/vincristine (CV) for subjects with NF1-associated low grade glioma (LGG), and to see if selumetinib is better than CV in improving vision in subjects with LGG of the optic pathway (vision nerves). Selumetinib is a drug that works by blocking some enzymes that low grade glioma tumor cells need for their growth. This results in killing tumor cells. Drugs used as chemotherapy, such as carboplatin and vincristine, 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 selumetinib works better in treating patients with NF1-associated low-grade glioma compared to standard therapy with carboplatin and vincristine.

7. A Registry for the Collection and Maintenance of Biological Specimens for Breast Cancer Research

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this registry is to collect and maintain samples of breast tissue from women and men undergoing surgery for a breast related concern at Mayo Clinic Rochester,  to create a biospecimen resource for the study of benign and cancerous breast conditions.

8. Human Blood and Tissues Repository for Neuroscience Research

   Jacksonville, Fla.

   The purpose of this study is to collect adult human blood, cerebrospinal fluid, brain, and spine tissues/fluids at time of surgery in order to conduct future studies of the cellular mechanisms of tissue invasion utilized by brain and spine tumors of the central nervous system (CNS).

9. A Study of the Gene Make-up of Heart Tumors

   Rochester, Minn.

   The purpose of this study is to help identify the biology of heart tumors and understand how and why they form.

10. ORACLE: Observation of ResiduAl Cancer With Liquid Biopsy Evaluation (ORACLE)

    Rochester, Minn.

    The purpose of ORACLE is to demonstrate the ability of a novel ctDNA assay developed by Guardant Health to detect recurrence in individuals treated for early-stage solid tumors. It is necessary that ctDNA test results are linked to clinical outcomes in order to demonstrate clinical validity for recurrence detection and explore its value in a healthcare environment subject to cost containment.