Yolanda I. Garces, M.D.

Closed for Enrollment

• MC1623:Phase II Trial of Standard Chemotherapy (Carboplatin & Paclitaxel) Various Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) Doses in Order to Determine the Optimal Dose of PBT for Unresectable Stage 2/3 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Rochester, Minn., Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.

  This study is being done to study which dose of proton beam therapy (PBT) for unresectable stage 2/3 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

• Phase II Toxicity Study of Pleurectomy/Decortication, (Neo) Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy to the Pleura in Patients With Locally Advanced Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Rochester, Minn.

  For patients with this type of cancer, the standard of care is treatment with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is typically not used. This is because radiation to the entire lining of the lung has many side effects that are often severe including damage to the lung (pneumonitis). There is a new radiation technique using Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) that has been shown to reduce many of the side effects of standard radiation therapy. This type of radiation therapy specifically targets the lining of the lung, where you have your cancer, and reduces the risk of damaging the lung itself. The purpose of this study is to test the safety and implementation of standard pleurectomy/decortication (removal of the surface lining of the lung) performed at other centers. Patients will undergo pleurectomy/decortication chemotherapy and hemithoracic pleural IMRT to the pleura in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

• Randomized Phase II/III Trial of Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation with or without Hippocampal Avoidance for Small Cell Lung Cancer Rochester, Minn., La Crosse, Wis., Albert Lea, Minn., Eau Claire, Wis., Mankato, Minn.

  This randomized phase II/III trial studies how well whole-brain radiation therapy works and compares it with or without hippocampal avoidance in treating patients with small cell lung cancer that is found in one lung, the tissues between the lungs, and nearby lymph nodes only (limited stage) or has spread outside of the lung in which it began or to other parts of the body (extensive stage). Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. The hippocampus is part of the brain that is important for memory. Avoiding the hippocampus during whole-brain radiation could decrease the chance of side effects on memory and thinking. It is not yet known whether giving whole-brain radiation therapy is more effective with or without hippocampal avoidance in treating patients with small cell lung cancer.