Active clinical trials for "Prostatic Neoplasms"

This is a feasibility study to determine safety and the ability of HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound)to selectively destroy prostate cancer tissue in men who demonstrate local recurrence of prostate cancer following radiation treatment.

Prostate cancer (CaP) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among males in the U.S. and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality. More than 230,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the USA this year and more than 30,000 will die of this disease. Androgen deprivation, the elimination of testosterone and its active metabolites, remains the single most effective intervention available for the treatment of advanced prostate carcinoma. This is usually achieved by surgical removal of the testes (orchiectomy), by suppressing production of testosterone (LHRH agonists) and/or by blocking the androgens at receptor sites (antiandrogens). Unfortunately, androgen suppression does not cure the disease. Most patients progress within 0-5 years, and all patients ultimately progress if the cancer is not eliminated during initial therapy (usually prostatectomy or radiation). Hormone suppression treatment eliminates the detectable levels of testosterone in the blood. However, the testosterone levels in tissue remain high enough to stimulate androgen receptors. Overexpression of androgen receptors is present in all cell lines which demonstrate "androgen independence," i.e., are resistant to androgen-suppressive therapy. Approximately 95% of testosterone is supplied by the testes, with the remaining 5% supplied by the adrenal glands. The presumption that standard androgen deprivation achieves the optimal level of androgen suppression for patients is based on the levels of androgen which result from orchiectomy. However, because adrenal androgen levels are unaffected by standard modes of androgen deprivation, 5% of the body's testosterone remains despite hormone therapy. The hypothesis of this study is that more effective suppression of the androgen axis through elimination of adrenal androgens and more effective suppression of testosterone metabolites will lower intraprostatic androgen levels, minimizing activation of the androgen receptor and augmenting natural cell death (apoptosis). The investigators propose to test this hypothesis by administering neoadjuvant (pre-surgery) androgen deprivation therapy of different types before prostatectomy for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. The investigators will assay serum and intraprostatic androgen levels, while assessing relative levels of apoptosis of normal and malignant tissue.

RATIONALE: Colony-stimulating factors, such as GM-CSF, may help the body build an effective immune response to kill tumor cells. Giving GM-CSF before surgery may be an effective treatment for localized prostate cancer. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well giving GM-CSF before surgery works in treating patients with localized prostate cancer.

RATIONALE: Androgens can cause the growth of prostate cancer cells. Drugs, such as ketoconazole, may stop the adrenal glands from making androgens. GM-CSF may help ketoconazole work better by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drug. Giving ketoconazole together with hydrocortisone and GM-CSF may be an effective treatment for prostate cancer. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving ketoconazole together with hydrocortisone and GM-CSF works in treating patients with progressive prostate cancer after hormone therapy.

RATIONALE: Androgens can cause the growth of prostate cancer cells. Hormone therapy using drugs, such as leuprolide, goserelin, flutamide, or bicalutamide, may fight prostate cancer by lowering the amount of androgens the body makes. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as docetaxel and prednisone, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. It is not yet known whether giving hormone therapy and radiation therapy together with chemotherapy is more effective than giving hormone therapy together with radiation therapy in treating prostate cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying hormone therapy and radiation therapy followed by docetaxel and prednisone to see how well it works compared to hormone therapy and radiation therapy in treating patients with localized prostate cancer.

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and activity of a type of vaccine as immune therapy for prostate cancer. This vaccine will be made for each participant's own immune cells (called dendritic cells) obtained by blood donation. Dendritic cells are immune cells, whose role is to identify foreign antigens (bacteria, viruses, or tumor cells, for example) in the body and to activate other cells of the immune system to mount an attack on that foreign antigen. Each participant will be randomized into either Arm 1 (experimental treatment only) or Arm 2 (placebo first, then the experimental treatment). Participants will be given the vaccine and three boosters as an injection. After the placebo phase, each participant in Arm 2 will crossover to the treatment phase so that all participants will eventually receive the experimental treatment.

This was a Phase 1, open-label, fixed-dose study of immunization with the NY-ESO-1 protein combined with CpG 7909 as an adjuvant in patients with histopathologically confirmed, high-risk Stage D1 or advanced prostate cancer. The primary study objective was to assess the safety of NY-ESO-1 protein/CpG 7909 immunization, and the secondary objective was to evaluate the immunity induced by immunization.

The purpose of this research study is to find out what effects (good and bad) Vidaza has on patients with prostate cancer. This investigational drug is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of prostate cancer; however, it is approved in myelodysplastic syndrome - a bone marrow disease. The pharmaceutical company involved in this study, Pharmion Corporation, is the manufacturer of Vidaza.

The purpose of this study is to learn if men with metastatic prostate cancer and rising Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), who have been surgically castrated or are undergoing androgen deprivation with Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone (LHRH) treatment, respond to dasatinib. The safety of this treatment will also be studied.

This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of 4 mg zoledronic acid administered intravenously every 3-4 weeks in the treatment of bone metastases-related pain in patients with prostate cancer.