Clinical Trials Search at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

This phase II trial studies the effect of pembrolizumab alone compared to the usual approach (chemotherapy \[cisplatin and carboplatin\] plus radiation therapy) after surgery in treating patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma that has come back (recurrent) or patients with a second head and neck cancer that is not from metastasis (primary). Radiation therapy uses high energy radiation or protons to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Cisplatin is in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. It works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Carboplatin is also in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. It works in a way similar to the anticancer drug cisplatin, but may be better tolerated than cisplatin. Carboplatin works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving pembrolizumab alone after surgery may work better than the usual approach in shrinking recurrent or primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

This phase III trial compares the effect of immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) plus chemotherapy (doxorubicin) to chemotherapy (doxorubicin) alone in treating patients with dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS), undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) or a related poorly differentiated sarcoma that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic) or that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable). Doxorubicin is in a class of medications called anthracyclines. Doxorubicin damages the cell's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and may kill tumor cells. It also blocks a certain enzyme needed for cell division and DNA repair. A monoclonal antibody is a type of protein that can bind to certain targets in the body, such as molecules that cause the body to make an immune response (antigens). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Adding immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) to the standard chemotherapy (doxorubicin) may help patients with metastatic or unresectable DDLPS, UPS or a related poorly differentiated sarcoma live longer without having disease progression.