Brain Cancer clinical trials at UCSF

This is an open-label, two-part, phase 1-2 dose-finding study designed to determine the safety, tolerability, PK, PD, and proof-of-concept efficacy of ST101 administered IV in patients with advanced solid tumors. The study consists of two phases: a phase 1 dose escalation/regimen exploration phase and a phase 2 expansion phase.

This research study is studying an immunotherapy as a possible treatment for Glioblastoma.

This is an open-label, multicenter, global Phase 2 basket study of entrectinib (RXDX-101) for the treatment of patients with solid tumors that harbor an NTRK1/2/3, ROS1, or ALK gene fusion. Patients will be assigned to different baskets according to tumor type and gene fusion.

This is a single center non-randomized, single-arm feasibility trial of the implementation of virtual behavioral health counseling sessions alongside standard-of-care treatment.

The basic mechanisms underlying comprehension of spoken language are still largely unknown. Over the past decade, the study team has gained new insights to how the human brain extracts the most fundamental linguistic elements (consonants and vowels) from a complex and highly variable acoustic signal. However, the next set of questions await pertaining to the sequencing of those auditory elements and how they are integrated with other features, such as, the amplitude envelope of speech. Further investigation of the cortical representation of speech sounds can likely shed light on these fundamental questions. Previous research has implicated the superior temporal cortex in the processing of speech sounds, but little is known about how these sounds are linked together into the perceptual experience of words and continuous speech. The overall goal is to determine how the brain extracts linguistic elements from a complex acoustic speech signal towards better understanding and remediating human language disorders.

The purpose of this research study is to determine how well neratinib works in treating breast cancer that has spread to the brain. Neratinib is a recently discovered oral drug that may stop breast cancer cells from growing abnormally by inhibiting (or blocking) members of a family of proteins that include Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2). In this research study, the investigators are looking to see how well neratinib works to decrease the size of or stabilize breast cancer that has spread to the brain. The investigators are also looking at how previous treatments have affected your thinking (or cognition) and how much neratinib reaches the central nervous system.

Patients with advanced HER2+ breast cancer on maintenance trastuzumab/pertuzumab or T-DM1 with 1st or 2nd intracranial disease event (brain metastases) and stable extracranial disease will be enrolled. They will receive local therapy with stereotactic radiosurgery ± surgical resection if indicated followed by enrollment. Patients will continue standard of care trastuzumab/pertuzumab or T-DM1 with the addition of tucatinib. Hormone receptor positive patients requiring endocrine therapy should continue. Study treatment will continue until disease progression or intolerable side effects. Patients on trial with extracranial disease progression with stable intracranial disease should continue tucatinib into next line of therapy.

The overall goal of this study is to reveal the fundamental neural mechanisms that underlie comprehension across human spoken languages. An understanding of how speech is coded in the brain has significant implications for the development of new diagnostic and rehabilitative strategies for language disorders (e.g. aphasia, dyslexia, autism, et alia). The basic mechanisms underlying comprehension of spoken language are unknown. Researchers are only beginning to understand how the human brain extracts the most fundamental linguistic elements (consonants and vowels) from a complex and highly variable acoustic signal. Traditional theories have posited a 'universal' phonetic inventory shared by all humans, but this has been challenged by other newer theories that each language has its own unique and specialized code. An investigation of the cortical representation of speech sounds across languages can likely shed light on this fundamental question. Previous research has implicated the superior temporal cortex in the processing of speech sounds. Most of this work has been entirely carried out in English. The recording of neural activity directly from the cortical surface from individuals with different language experience is a promising approach since it can provide both high spatial and temporal resolution. This study will examine the mechanisms of phonetic encoding, by utilizing neurophysiological recordings obtained during neurosurgical procedures. High-density electrode arrays, advanced signal processing, and direct electrocortical stimulation will be utilized to unravel both local and population encoding of speech sounds in the lateral temporal cortex. This study will also examine the neural encoding of speech in patients who are monolingual and bilingual in Mandarin, Spanish, and English, the most common spoken languages worldwide, and feature important contrastive differences of pitch, formant, and temporal envelope. A cross-linguistic approach is critical for a true understanding of language, while also striving to achieve a broader approach of diversity and inclusion in neuroscience of language.

This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of vorinostat when given together with temozolomide in treating patients with malignant gliomas. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as vorinostat and temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Vorinostat may also stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Vorinostat may help temozolomide work better by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drug. Giving vorinostat together with temozolomide may kill more tumor cells.