Cancer research studies

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn more about different treatment regimens for patients with advanced skin cancer called melanoma. We will compare the safety and usefulness of fianlimab + cemiplimab compared to the medicine Opdualag. We are looking for volunteers with melanoma that has spread to other parts of the body and cannot be removed by surgery.

Research leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

IRB number: IRB00124872

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if getting radiation treatments six times a week is better than five times a week for people with head and neck cancer who start radiation more than six weeks after surgery. People will be randomly put into one of two groups and get either five or six treatments each week. The study hopes to learn which schedule helps prevent cancer from coming back.

Research leader: Jeffrey Kittel, MD

IRB number: IRB00121676

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if a new medicine called vusolimogene oderparepvec (VO) with nivolumab works better than regular treatments for people with advanced melanoma. Researchers will compare how well each treatment shrinks tumors and how long the effects last. The goal is to help find better ways to treat advanced skin cancer.

Research leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

IRB number: IRB00119805

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare two medicines for a type of advanced breast cancer called estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/human epidermal growth factor (HER2)-negative breast cancer. Both medicines are given with another medicine chosen by your doctor. The goal is to help people whose cancer did not get better with earlier hormone treatment.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

IRB number: IRB00118279

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn more about a program called CONNECT. We want to see if this program can help caregivers of people with lung cancer find support and resources they need. Caregivers will get information and help connecting to services. The goal is to make it easier for caregivers to get support.

Research leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

IRB number: IRB00117010

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn more about a medicine called iberdomide. We want to see if it is safe to take after a certain cancer treatment called CAR-T. Researchers want to know if this medicine can help keep multiple myeloma from coming back. They also want to see if this new treatment works better than just watching the cancer without giving more medicine.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

IRB number: IRB00116598

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if two medicines, palbociclib and binimetinib, can help people with certain cancers that have special DNA changes. The goal is to find out if these medicines can stop the cancer from growing or help people live longer. Doctors also want to learn if these medicines cause any side effects.

Research leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

IRB number: IRB00115637

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if a blood test can help doctors decide who needs extra cancer treatment after surgery for bladder, kidney. Ureter, or urethra cancer. The blood test looks for cancer DNA in the blood. If the test finds cancer DNA, patients may get one or two cancer drugs, or they may be watched closely.

Research leader: Adam Siegel, MD

IRB number: IRB00114449

Purpose: The goal of this study is to learn more about a new test called Oncodetect™. This test looks for signs of breast cancer in the blood. We want to see how well this test can find cancer coming back during and after treatments like surgery or radiation.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

IRB number: IRB00113874

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if adding chemotherapy to immunotherapy helps older adults with lung cancer live longer and feel better. Researchers will compare two groups: one gets both treatments, and the other gets only immunotherapy. The goal is to see which treatment works best with fewer side effects.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

IRB number: IRB00113690

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if sending text message reminders and alerts can help people with breast cancer remember to take their medicine on time. We will compare this new way to the usual way people take their medicine. This will help us learn which way works best.

Research leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

IRB number: IRB00112267

Purpose: The purpose of this study to learn more about the study drug Levocarnitine. We want to see if this study drug protects the liver from chemotherapy for leukemia or lymphoma.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

IRB number: IRB00110828

Purpose: Empathic communication involves listening carefully to a person so you can understand that person's feelings and perspective. The purpose of this study is to see if teaching doctors to use empathic communication can help patients feel less blamed for having lung cancer. Patients will answer questions about their feelings and experiences with their doctor. The goal is to make care better and less stressful for people with lung cancer.

Research leader: Michael Breen, MD

IRB number: IRB00110245

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn how things like life experiences and mental health can change genes and health in teens and young adults who survived cancer. The goal is to find ways to help survivors stay healthier after treatment. Researchers hope to discover who might have more health problems later on.

Research leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

IRB number: IRB00108512

Purpose: This study wants to find out if adding a new immunotherapy drug (durvalumab) to the usual chemotherapy before surgery helps lower the chance of breast cancer coming back. People will get either the usual chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus the new drug. Doctors will compare which treatment works better and check for side effects.

Research leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

IRB number: IRB00107918

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn more about how cancer changes and responds to treatment over time. To do this, researchers need tissue and blood samples that are collected over the whole course of a patient's cancer treatment, along with medical information. With time, researchers hope find better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

IRB number: IRB00107303

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if certain drugs work better for people with meningiomas (a type of brain tumor) that have specific gene changes. The goal is to see if using genetic testing can help pick the best treatment. Researchers hope this will help shrink tumors and improve care for future patients.

Research leader: Isaac Melguizo-Gavilanes, MD

IRB number: IRB00107262

Purpose: This study compares two treatments after surgery for head and neck cancer: radiation alone or radiation with chemotherapy (cisplatin). Researchers want to see if adding chemotherapy helps people live longer without the cancer coming back, especially for those with certain gene changes. The study will also look at how genes affect treatment results.

Research leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

IRB number: IRB00105004

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if we can delay your cancer getting worse and help you live longer by giving high-dose radiation therapy directly to your lung tumor. This treatment will be done before the usual treatment for locally-advanced non-small cell lung cancer. We want to find out if this approach is better or worse than the usual treatment.

Research leader: Jeffrey Kittel, MD

IRB number: IRB00104915

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if using brain scans alone, instead of brain scans plus preventive brain radiation, affects how long people with small cell lung cancer live.

Research leader: Jeffrey Kittel, MD

IRB number: IRB00104912

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn more about a new medicine called durvalumab when used with chemotherapy. We want to see if it works and is safe for treating non-small cell lung cancer that has spread and has certain gene changes (STK11, KEAP1, and/or KRAS). This study will compare this new treatment to the current standard treatment.

Research leader: Laura McGartland, MD

Region: Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00119177

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if adding a new medicine called pembrolizumab to regular chemotherapy helps people with a rare cancer called undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. Doctors hope this mix might stop the cancer from growing better than chemo alone. The study will also check if people live longer and feel better with the new treatment.

Research leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00121694

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if adding a new medicine called nivolumab to the usual treatment helps people with advanced stomach or esophageal cancer. Researchers want to see if this new combination can stop the cancer from growing and help people live longer. They are comparing the new treatment to the usual treatment to find out which works better.

Research leader: Edward James, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00124064

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare different medicines to treat patients with a type of breast cancer called HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. We will compare a new medicine called PF-07220060 plus the medicine letrozole to approved medicines plus letrozole to see which works better. The goal is to learn more about how well these treatments help people with this kind of cancer.

Research leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL

IRB number: IRB00124939

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see how well a medicine called osimertinib, with or without chemotherapy, works for people with a type of lung cancer called EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer. The medicine is already approved, but researchers want to learn how it works in people who are not in a clinical trial. They also want to find out if these people have any new or different side effects.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00125756

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if adding a second cancer medicine called carboplatin to the usual treatment (cabazitaxel) helps people with prostate cancer that has spread. Doctors will also look at gene changes in the cancer to see if they affect how well the treatment works. The goal is to find better ways to treat this kind of cancer.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00126949

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if a smaller dose of tamoxifen works as well as the usual treatment for early breast cancer. Tamoxifen is a medicine that helps stop cancer from coming back. Doctors hope the lower dose will cause fewer side effects.

Research leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00127524

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out which thyroid cancer medicine works better: cabozantinib or a mix of dabrafenib and trametinib. Both medicines are already approved, but our researchers would like to find out which medicine helps stop the cancer from coming back or getting worse.

Research leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00127574

Purpose: The purpose of this study to learn more about other ways people manage their cancer symptoms while they are getting treatment. These other ways include using things like cannabis (also called marijuana), vitamins or supplements, and doing activities like acupuncture or meditation. We want to find out if these methods help or hurt people compared to the usual care they get from their doctor.

Research leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00127981

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to help more Black and Latino people with cancer join clinical trials. Researchers will use a website and a helper called a SUPPORT navigator to explain clinical trials and answer questions. The goal is to make it easier for people to learn about and join these trials.

Research leader: Peter Polewski, MD

Region: Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00131674

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if adding a fourth medicine helps people with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma more than the usual three medicines. Doctors will check if the new treatment shrinks cancer better or keeps it from coming back. The study will also look at side effects from the medicines.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104952

Purpose: We are doing this study to find out if stem cell transplants help people with myelofibrosis feel better and live healthier lives. By sharing your medical information, you can help us learn if Medicare should pay for these transplants for more people in the future. By volunteering, you could help others get the care they need.

Study leader: Sherjeel Sana, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL

IRB number: IRB00106946

Purpose: A genitourinary tumor is a rare cancer that grows in the urinary tract or kidneys. The purpose of this study is to learn how three medicines work together to treat these cancers. We hope to find out if the medicines can safely shrink or control the cancer and what side effects might happen.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107301

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if special medicines can help people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Doctors will look at genes in the tumor to match patients with the best treatment. The goal is to find better ways to treat lung cancer.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107411

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn who joins cancer clinical trials and why some people do not. The information will help researchers make future studies better and easier for everyone. It also helps find out if certain groups, like young people or minorities, have different experiences with cancer treatment.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00105003

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out which people are most likely to have serious side effects when getting immunotherapy for cancer. Immunotherapy is a treatment that helps your body fight cancer. The results may help doctors and patients make better choices about cancer treatment in the future.

Study leader: Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00105915

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see what happens when people with cancer get special medicines that are chosen to match changes in their tumor's DNA. We want to find out if these medicines can help shrink or stop the cancer. What we learn may help people with cancer in the future.

Study leader: Antony Ruggeri, MD

Region: Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107327

Purpose: This study wants to see which medicine works better for people with a certain kind of lung cancer. Some people will get adagrasib and pembrolizumab together, and some will get just pembrolizumab. The study will check if the cancer gets smaller and what side effects happen. Blood and tissue samples will help doctors learn more about these medicines.

Study leader: Jason Macklis, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL

IRB number: IRB00104721

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if blood tests can help find cancer before symptoms appear. We will collect blood samples from people with and without cancer. The goal is to help doctors detect cancer early in the future.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00105011

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if removing just the fallopian tubes is as good as removing both the fallopian tubes and ovaries for lowering the chance of getting ovarian cancer in people with BRCA1 mutations. The study will also look at how people decide which surgery to have and what symptoms they have after surgery. The goal is to help doctors and patients make better choices to prevent ovarian cancer.

Study leader: Ismail Mert, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107264

Purpose: This study wants to find out if adding a new drug called pembrolizumab to regular chemotherapy helps keep lung cancer from coming back. Doctors will compare the usual treatment to the new combination to see which works better. The goal is to help people live longer and healthier lives after lung cancer surgery.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107302

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if adding Durvalumab to chemotherapy before surgery helps shrink tumors and keeps cancer from coming back in people with high-grade upper urinary tract cancer. The study compares this new approach to the usual treatment. Doctors hope this will help improve care for future patients.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107305

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if adding the medicine apalutamideo to your regular prostate cancer treatment can help stop the cancer from spreading for a longer time. We want to find out if this new way works better or worse than the usual treatment.

Study leader: Adam Siegel, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107364

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of giving or not giving regional radiation therapy to people with low risk breast cancer. Researchers want to know if skipping regional radiation is just as good at keeping cancer from coming back. The goal is to help decide the best treatment for future patients.

Study leader: Ellen L. Ziaja MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104691

Purpose: The usual treatment for low-risk breast cancer is radiation and hormonal therapy. The purpose of this study is to find out how well hormonal therapy alone will work. We want to find out if this approach is better or worse than the usual approach.

Study leader: Ellen L. Ziaja MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104692

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if adding a medicine called relugolix to radiation helps men with prostate cancer that has spread to a few places. The study will compare how well people do with radiation plus relugolix versus radiation plus a placebo. It will also look at side effects and how treatment affects quality of life.

Study leader: Adam Siegel, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104727

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if adding a third chemotherapy drug helps people with stomach or esophagus cancer live longer. Doctors will compare the usual two-drug treatment to a new three-drug treatment. The goal is to see which works better and what side effects happen.

Study leader: Edward James, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104770

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare two different approaches to care for breast cancer after surgery. Our researchers want to find out whether closely monitoring patients after surgery works just as well as giving additional medication to prevent the cancer from returning. This study is for volunteers who had triple-negative breast cancer and showed no signs of cancer after completing chemotherapy and surgery.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104906

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare two treatments for early triple negative breast cancer. One treatment is shorter and uses fewer drugs. The study will see if the shorter treatment works as well and causes fewer side effects.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104909

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn more about adding chemotherapy to hormone treatment for breast cancer. We will compare two common treatments to see which works better. The goal is to find out if adding chemotherapy can prevent the cancer from returning and learn more about the possible side effects. We are looking for volunteers who have early-stage breast cancer, are HER2-negative, and have not gone through menopause yet.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104911

Purpose: This study wants to find out if people with prostate cancer do better with more or less treatment based on their gene risk score. The study will compare usual treatment to new ways of treating cancer. The goal is to see which treatment works best and has fewer side effects.

Study leader: Jeffrey Kittel, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104914

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare two combinations of medicines to treat advanced melanoma. Researchers want to see which combination works better and what side effects may happen. The goal is to help people with melanoma live longer and healthier lives.

Study leader: Umang Gautam, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104929

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if giving radiation before surgery can improve the length of time without the cancer in your brain returning or getting worse. We want to see if this approach is better or worse than the usual approach.

Study leader: Daniel Lindsay, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00104967

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn more about why some people have side effects from immunotherapy treatments for cancer. We will collect blood, tissue, and health information to learn how to better predict, prevent, and treat the side effects.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00105007

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if adding a new chemotherapy drug called lomustine to the usual treatment for a certain brain tumor called glioblastoma helps people live longer or keeps the tumor from coming back. The usual treatment is surgery, radiation, and another chemotherapy drug called temozolomide. Doctors will compare the new treatment to the usual treatment to find out which works better.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00105008

Purpose: This study wants to learn why some people with certain cancers lose weight and muscle, while others do not. The goal is to find out if there are different types of weight and muscle loss in cancer patients. This may help doctors create better treatments in the future.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00105015

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find the best way to treat cancer by checking for changes in tumor genes. If a tumor has certain gene changes, a matching treatment trial might be offered. The goal is to help doctors find out which treatments work best for different gene changes.

Study leader: Antony Ruggeri, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00105018

Purpose: This study wants to see if a blood test can help doctors decide which chemotherapy is best after colon cancer surgery. The blood test looks for cancer DNA in the blood. The goal is to find out if this new way is better, the same, or worse than the usual treatment.

Study leader: Antony Ruggeri, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00105022

Purpose: This study wants to see if adding a new medicine (daratumumab) to two other medicines (lenalidomide and dexamethasone) helps people with early, high-risk multiple myeloma live longer. Researchers will compare this new combination to the usual treatment. The goal is to find out which treatment works better and keeps people healthy longer.

Study leader: Thomas Saphner, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107342

Purpose: This study wants to find out if adding surgery to drug treatment helps people with kidney cancer that has spread. Doctors will compare people who get only drug treatment to people who get drug treatment and surgery. The goal is to see which way helps people live longer or feel better.

Study leader: Adam Siegel, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00107363

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find out if giving special cancer medicines after targeted radiation to the liver helps people with liver cancer. The study will check if this treatment is safe and if it keeps the cancer from getting worse. People in the study will get the medicines through an IV after their radiation treatment.

Study leader: Laurence Donahue, MD

Region: Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00108620

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see if a pill called osimertinib can help shrink lung tumors in people with a certain gene change called EGFR exon 20. Our researchers hope to learn if this treatment works better than usual care.

Study leader: Shamsuddin Virani MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00112765

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare two ways to give radiation for high-risk prostate cancer. One way uses fewer treatments with a higher dose, and the other way uses more treatments with a lower dose. The goal is to see which method works better to keep the cancer from coming back.

Study leader: Jeffrey Kittel, MD

Region: Greater Chicago IL, Greater Milwaukee WI

IRB number: IRB00113187