Clinical Trials Search at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

This phase III trial investigates the best dose of vinblastine in combination with selumetinib and the benefit of adding vinblastine to selumetinib compared to selumetinib alone in treating children and young adults with low-grade glioma (a common type of brain cancer) that has come back after prior treatment (recurrent) or does not respond to therapy (progressive). Selumetinib is a drug that works by blocking a protein that lets tumor cells grow without stopping. Vinblastine blocks cell growth by stopping cell division and may kill cancer cells. Giving selumetinib in combination with vinblastine may work better than selumetinib alone in treating recurrent or progressive low-grade glioma.

This phase III trial compares how well endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) versus EBUS-TBNA plus transbronchial mediastinal cryobiopsy works to obtain adequate tissue samples for next generation sequencing (NGS). During usual care, if there is suspicion of cancer, a procedures known as an EBUS-TBNA is done to take sample of lymph nodes to evaluate for cancer spread. If there is suspected cancer in the lymph nodes, multiple samples are taken for molecular testing (NGS) to help guide treatment decisions. It requires a certain amount of tissue to send for the molecular testing which can be achieved with EBUS-TBNA about 70% of the time. Researchers want to find out if adding a biopsy tool currently used in usual care, known as a cryoprobe, can acquire more tissue for molecular analysis. The cryoprobe uses a freezing technique to biopsy and can potentially gather larger and higher quality tissue samples than the standard EBUS-TBNA method.

This phase III trial compares the effect of adding levocarnitine to standard chemotherapy vs. standard chemotherapy alone in protecting the liver in patients with leukemia or lymphoma. Asparaginase is part of the standard of care chemotherapy for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL), and mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL). However, in adolescent and young adults (AYA) ages 15-39 years, liver toxicity from asparaginase is common and often prevents delivery of planned chemotherapy, thereby potentially compromising outcomes. Some groups of people may also be at higher risk for liver damage due to the presence of fat in the liver even before starting chemotherapy. Patients who are of Japanese descent, Native Hawaiian, Hispanic or Latinx may be at greater risk for liver damage from chemotherapy for this reason. Carnitine is a naturally occurring nutrient that is part of a typical diet and is also made by the body. Carnitine is necessary for metabolism and its deficiency or absence is associated with liver and other organ damage. Levocarnitine is a drug used to provide extra carnitine. Laboratory and real-world usage of the dietary supplement levocarnitine suggests its potential to prevent or reduce liver toxicity from asparaginase. The overall goal of this study is to determine whether adding levocarnitine to standard of care chemotherapy will reduce the chance of developing severe liver damage from asparaginase chemotherapy in ALL, LL and/or MPAL patients.