Hematology-Oncology Clinical Trials

Normally, white blood cells are produced in a controlled way by the bone marrow. In someone with AML or ALL, this production process is abnormal and immature cells are produced and sent into the blood stream. In this immature state, the cells affect the production of other normal cells and these cannot perform their usual functions. Therefore patients with AML or ALL are vulnerable to infection, anemia, and bleeding.

The purpose of this study is to understand what causes the white blood cells to grow abnormally, and to determine if there are novel agents that can be used to stop this abnormal growth. In this research project, a sample of blood and bone marrow will be studied in the laboratory to learn more about the nature of the disease, and to understand what causes the defect in the growth of these cells.

The purpose of this research study is to examine many aspects of gastrointestinal disease including pancreatic and colon cancer, including its genetics, its early stages, and the effects of cancer on other tissues such as muscle and adipose (fat) tissue. Tissues from patients (with cancer as well as from those without), who are undergoing pancreatic surgery, will be used in this research.

In this research project, samples of blood and bone marrow will be studied in the laboratory to learn more about the nature of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells and how various medications and chemical agents affect them.

The purpose of this study is to learn about how CML leukemia cells become resistant to medications or progress to acute leukemia (blast crisis). This may prove to be helpful in the design of new more effective drugs for the treatment of CML in the future.

In this research study, samples of bone marrow or peripheral blood will be collected from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to learn more about the effect of some new drugs on CML cells in the laboratory. The purpose of this study is to understand how these new drugs stop leukemia cells from growing. This research may prove to be helpful in the design of new and more effective treatments for leukemia in the future.

The Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute (NBTI) currently uses an electronic database to collect and store information about patients who come to the NBTI for evaluations, including diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and/or to obtain additional opinions. This database is called the Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute Database or NBTIDB, and it was developed to replace older paper methods for collecting and storing information.

The purpose of this study is to allow researchers involved with the NBTIDB to use data stored in it for future research studies and projects. The NBTIDB also allows researchers to track whether or not patients have agreed to allow their information to be linked to their leftover tissue samples, which are kept in the hospital’s pathology department, for future research studies.

Researchers have found that about 60% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will obtain a remission following treatment with combinations of chemotherapy drugs. However, relapse after treatment remains a problem, and can be as high as 80% in some types of AML patients. Therefore, it would be beneficial to identify specific treatment approaches for patients at a high risk for relapse. One characteristic associated with high relapse rates is an increase in proteins that are referred to as Hox proteins in the leukemia cells. Increase in Hox proteins prevents production of some other proteins, including a protein referred to as Triad1. An increase in Triad1 protein in bone marrow cells may be important to control the growth of such cells. Decreased Triad1 in leukemia cells may therefore promote their growth, but this has not been previously studied.

The purpose of this study is to investigate if the lack of Triad1 in leukemia cells contributes to resistance of some leukemias to chemotherapy drugs. This research may prove to be helpful in the design of new and more effective treatments for leukemia in the future.

At a time when you are having a bone marrow biopsy and aspirate performed as part of your standard medical care, about an additional 2.5 teaspoons (12.5 mL) of bone marrow will be collected for this research study.

Researchers would like to create a bio-specimen bank of tissue, blood, urine and saliva, which would then be used to study cancer and find better ways to detect, prevent, diagnose, treat and provide better care for future patients. Some of these studies may be about how genes affect the development of cancer, response or resistance to treatment as well as prognosis (course of disease and overall outcome including survival). Other studies may aim to identify measurable substances in the blood and/or urine (known as biomarkers) that can indicate early development of cancer, worsening or relapse of disease and response to treatment. Some studies may lead to new products, such as drugs or tests for detection of cancer.

The purpose of this registry is to collect clinical information on all consenting head and neck cancer patients seen at the Northwestern Medical Group (NMG) or Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH). With this information, researchers will conduct studies to learn more about the subtypes of head and neck cancers and determine the most effective treatments. The registry will also allow us to identify possible subjects for future studies.

This study is being done to help improve the knowledge on the biology of breast cancer in the future. Blood specimens from patients with breast cancer will be collected and utilized for future research projects known as biomarker studies. These blood based laboratory tests will ultimately evaluate molecules present in the blood of patients with breast cancer. These molecules could be, for example, a protein, tumor DNA, or tumor cells circulating in the blood. As research technology advances, blood samples from patients with breast cancer may help in understanding the course of disease and to check as to how effective a treatment is.

The purpose of the study is to gather information about your cancer and the treatment you receive as a part of your routine clinical care. In this study, we are developing a research registry, which is a bank of information about many patients.

We are interested in learning about the relationship between your cancer and the different types of tests available to identify the best treatment option for you. That is, we are interested in the tests that identify possible ‘mutations’ (e.g., changes) or ‘drivers’ within your tumor, what treatments you receive after getting these tests, and how your cancer responds to the treatments.

The tests known as next generation sequencing or “NGS” are usually done on your cancer tissue or blood samples as a part of your routine clinical care. Your doctor can use the information to identify the best treatment option for you after discussing it with other doctors. These routine tests will be performed whether you participate in this study or not, but we want to collect the information about this process for this study.

If you participate in this study, extra samples of your blood will be collected and stored, and your health information from your medical record and NGS lab results will be collected and stored.

The purpose of this study is to allow researchers studying and treating melanoma and other cancers to have access to tissue for research purposes only. Northwestern University may use your medical record information, as well as tumor, blood, saliva, urine, and fecal samples (collectively called “tissue”) for research studies to help us understand melanoma and other skin cancers. Biopsies and surgery of your cancer will not be a part of this study but will be performed as part of your standard care.

The purpose of this research is to determine whether radiotherapy after surgery to remove a breast cancer can help decrease the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood. Circulating tumor cells are cancer cells that are shed from the tumor into the blood stream and are believed to be one of the first indicators that breast cancer cells may remain after surgery. Approximately 20% of women with early-stage breast cancer can be found to have CTCs in a small sample of blood taken several weeks after surgery. Radiotherapy is used after surgery to remove a breast cancer in order to sterilize any cancer cells that may be remaining in the breast. It is not known if radiotherapy can help decrease or eliminate CTCs that are found in the blood. This study aims to find out if testing for CTCs can be clinically useful for guiding radiotherapy treatment decisions. Another aim of this study is to evaluate whether CTCs can be used to measure the effectiveness of radiotherapy in an individual patient.

The purpose of this study is to compare the usual treatment alone

to using PET/CT imaging to look for cancer that has spread to the pelvis plus the usual treatment.

We want to see if we can provide a more targeted treatment to this type of cancer by treating up to 5

specific lesions that are seen on the PET/CT scan. Part of the purpose of this study is also to see

whether adding apalutamide and directed radiation works better than the usual approach to help treat

prostate cancer that has returned after surgery.

This study will help the study doctors find out if this different approach is better than the usual

approach. To decide if it is better, the study doctors will be looking to see if the study approach

increases the time before cancer growth or if the cancer causes major additional symptoms.

This study has 4 study groups. Participants will be assigned to 1 of 4 possible treatment groups

depending on the results of your PET/CT scan. After you finish your study treatment, your doctor will

continue to follow your condition for up to 10 years and watch you for side effects and monitor the

progression of your cancer.

Group 1 (Negative for Extra Pelvic-Metastases)

If you are in this group, it means your PET/CT scan did not show evidence that your cancer has spread

to outside of the pelvis. You will get the usual appropriate care that is used to treat this type of

cancer, the planned standard of care treatment with radiation therapy (SOC RT) and STAD for 6 months.

Group 2 (Negative for Extra Pelvic-Metastases)

If you are in this group, it means your PET/CT scan did not show evidence that your cancer has spread

to areas outside of the pelvis. You will get a study treatment, planned SOC RT + STAD + apalutamide

for 6 months.

Group 3 (Positive for Extra Pelvic-Metastases)

If you are in this group, it means that your cancer has spread to areas outside of your pelvis.

You will get planned SOC RT + STAD + apalutamide for 6 months.

Group 4 (Positive for Extra Pelvic-Metastases)

If you are in this group, your cancer has spread to areas outside of your pelvis.

You will get a planned SOC RT + STAD + apalutamide for 6 months + directed radiation therapy to

where the cancer has spread. Each patient will undergo another (or additional) PET/CT scan,

which will take place about one year after starting treatment or if clinically necessary at an

earlier time point.

This study is being done to learn how the microbiome evolves through stem cell transplantation, how it can be shaped by socioeconomic status, the neighborhoods that people reside in, and their diet, as well as certain clinical factors (such as antibiotic usage). Study participants will be asked to provide a saliva sample and complete a questionnaire.

Participants 18 years or older who have metastatic melanoma, and the cancer has a change in the gene called the BRAF, and is not responsive to treatment with MEK and BRAF inhibitors will be enrolled.

This study has two phases. Phase 1 and Phase 2.

The purpose of Phase 1 is to test the safety of the study drug, tazemetostat, in combination with the usual treatment, dabrafenib and trametinib. This study tests different doses of tazemetostat with the usual dose of dabrafenib and trametinib to see which dose of tazemetostat is safest for people. Tazmetostatis not approved by the FDA for treatment of this type of cancer.

All people taking part in this study will get the same dose of the usual intervention, dabrafenib and trametinib. However, people in this study will get different doses of the study drug, tazemetostat. Once the highest safe dose is found, phase 1 of the study is stopped.

The purpose of Phase II is to compare the combination of tazemetostat, dabrafenib, and trametinib to tazemetostat alone. This study will help the study doctors find out if this different approach is better, the same, or worse than the usual approach. Another purpose of this study is for the study doctors to learn if a genetic test is helpful to decide if tazemetostat is more effective in patients whose cancer has an abnormal EZH2 gene. The combination of tazemetostat, trametinib, and dabrafenib, has not been administered together in patients and the combination of these agents are not FDA approved for the treatment of this type of cancer.

Participants who take part in this study will either get a combination of usual approach of dabrafenib and trametinib, and the study drug, tazemetostat or will get the study drug, tazemetostat alone, until their disease gets worse or the side effects become too severe.

The purpose of this study is to compare the early treatment(before you have symptoms) of venetoclax and obinutuzumab (V-O) to the usual treatment of V-O after you have symptoms. This study will help the study doctors find out if this different approach is better, the same, or worse than the usual approach. Another purpose of this study is to find out how early V-O treatment affects patients’ physical, social, and emotional well-being, compared to patients receiving the standard delayed V-O treatment.

The antibody, obinutuzumab, and the drug, venetoclax are already approved by the FDA for use in patients with previously untreated CLL or SLL. Most of the time these drugs are not used until a patient has symptoms that make treatment necessary.

Participants who decide to take part in this study will either get treatment with venetoclax and obinutuzumab (V-O) that starts before symptoms start (now), or participants will get treatment with venetoclax and obinutuzumab (V-O) that will start after symptoms start (later). For all patients, the treatment with V-O will continue for 12 months or until the cancer gets worse, or the side effects are too great.

After treatment is finished, participants will be followed for up to 10 years after enrollment.

The purpose of this study is to compare the usual treatment with T-DM1 alone toT-DM1 plus tucatinib. This study will help the study doctors find out if this different approach is better than the usual approach. T-DM1 is already approved by the FDA for use in patients with HER2-positive cancer. Tucatinib has not been FDA-approved to treat breast cancer.

Participants who decide to participate will either get treatment with T-DM1 and placebo (a pill that looks like the study drug but contains no medication) or T-DM1 and tucatinib, for up to 14 cycles, unless the breast cancer returns or the side effects become too severe.

After study treatment is finished, the study doctor will follow participants to watch for side effects and for signs of breast cancer returning. This may include a clinic visit every 6 months for 10 years.

The purpose of this study is to examine the good and bad effects of taking the study drug sacituzumab govitecan. This study will help the study doctors to find out if taking the study drug, sacituzumab govitecan will help to decrease cancer in the brain more than usual treatment. The study will also help the study doctors understand if taking the study drug extends the time until the cancer gets worse.

Sacituzumab govitecan is not approved by the FDA for use in patients with HER2-negative breast cancer that has spread to the brain. It is approved for use in patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer that was previously treated.

Participants who are enrolled into this study will get the usual drugs selected by their study doctor that can help to prevent the side-effects that might be caused by the study drug. Participants will also get the study drug, sacituzumab govitecan, during each cycle. Each cycle lasts 21 days. This study has up to 35 cycles (or approximately 2 years).

As long as the cancer does not get worse and participants do not experience severe side effects, and their study doctor determines that it is beneficial for them to remain on study, they will continue to get the study drug until completion of the study.

The purpose of this study is to assess if the use of a 3D imaging device called the Clarix Imaging Volumetric Specimen Imager (VSI) can help guide and assist surgeons in identifying and removing all positive margins while in the operating room for breast conservation surgery.

If you are undergoing breast conservation surgery and meet all criteria, the 3D imaging device, VSI, will be used to guide and assist the surgeon in identifying and removing all positive margins while in the operating room. The lumpectomy procedure will be performed per standard practice.

If eligible, the lumpectomy procedure will be performed per standard practice. Promptly after excision, the tumor specimen will be imaged using the VSI device to take additional 3D images of the removed tissue during the standard of care surgery.

During surgery, after the tumor has been removed, the investigators will use the VSI device to identify the margins on the main sample. The surgeon will use this information to remove additional tissue from the cavity. The surgeon will then complete the standard of care surgery according to standard of care practices which may include additional shaves of the remaining issue. The amount of tissue removed as a result of VSI-directed shaving will not be more than the amount that your surgeon would normally remove as part of standard of care.

Participants will be asked to come for a post-operative visit as per standard of care and will be followed-up up to 2 months after surgery.

Note: This is only a partial description of the study procedures. Please contact the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University if you are interested in the trial.

This study is being done to collect, process, and store blood samples of plasma cell disorder patients. The collected blood samples will be used for research projects to study the abnormal plasma cells and compare the results to current tests being done. This will provide an opportunity to better understand how a patient is responding to treatment and to assess the stage of the patient’s disease.

This study will use different tests that are not FDA approved. This test is being studied as a less invasive way to monitor amount of disease in a patient (versus invasive bone marrow biopsy). Current blood tests show the levels of the product of the cancer cell - not the levels of the cells themselves. Sometimes the cancer cells do not make this product and can therefore go undetected in standard tests. This study will show the number of cells. These tests will help identify, and analyze circulating plasma cells (CPCs), which are cells that have escaped into the bloodstream (a characteristic of plasma cell disorders). We will also look at any plasma cell components, such as genes in the DNA and RNA. Part of your samples will be used for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to evaluate any changes in your genes. NGS is a useful tool that determines the sequence of your DNA.

This Phase II/III trial will evaluate what kind of chemotherapy to recommend to patients based on the presence or absences of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) after surgery for colon cancer.

Note: This is only a partial description of the study. Please contact the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University if you are interested in the trial.