ANZCTR search results

This study is designed to determine the safety and efficacy of PI- 88 combined with dacarbazine as a first line treatment in patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma, compared to the current standard treatment of dacarbazine alone. PI-88 is a new drug which blocks new blood vessel growth in tumours, which starves the tumour of nutrients and therefore it cannot grow. Dacarbazine is a chemotherapy drug which has been used for many years to treat melanoma and it works by stopping the tumour cells from growing. It is hoped that by combining these two drugs patients will have better outcomes than if they were treated with dacarbazine alone. The results of this study will be analysed to see if it is worthwhile for the 2 drugs to be tested in future studies involving larger numbers of melanoma patients.

This study will determine if macadamia nuts are an appropriate food to include in diets to address weight loss and other factors associated with coronary heart disease.

To determine if acupuncture using a low power infrared laser has a benefit greater than that achieved by non- specific factors(placebo) in the treatment of chronic low back pain.

Rituximab has been used extensively for the treatment of other immune diseases and for a blood cancer, lymphoma. This trial is to determine if rituximab is also effective in the treatment of bullous skin diseases such as bullous pemphigoid. We want to assess if rituximab is a good alternative to other standard treatments for bullous pemphigoid including immune suppressive drugs, or if it can be effective in those patients that have not responded or are intolerant to either steroid treatment or immune suppressive treatment. The aim of this trial is to determine if there is any improvement in the skin lesions or if the dose of steroids or immune suppressive drugs can be reduced. Rituximab is only currently approved in Australia for the use in lymphoma and is not currently approved for the use in bullous skin disease. Rituximab will be administered as four doses, each a week apart and then patient assessment will take place at 1 month and 3 months post treatment and 3-monthly thereafter to assess response

There is compelling evidence for the efficacy of screening and brief intervention (SBI) for hazardous drinking, yet it is not widely available in primary healthcare. Electronic (computer/web-based) intervention offers the prospect of ease, simplicity, and economy of access. The objective was to examine whether electronic SBI (single- and multi-intervention) reduces hazardous drinking and related problems compared with an information leaflet alone (control condition). Design and Setting: Randomized controlled trial at a university health service (enrolment 8/2003), with follow-up measures taken at 6 and 12 months.

This study has patients using two different moisturising creams during radiation therapy after mastectomy. These are Cavilon and sorbolene. It is hypothesised that skin reactions may be reduced by the Cavilon cream compared to sorbolene.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of hospitalisation and premature death in many countries globally. One of the most hotly debated issues in clinical research is whether a “polypill” (a new combination medication containing aspirin and agents to lower blood pressure and cholesterol) can really reduce cardiovascular disease by three-quarters or more. This clinical trial will assess the safety and tolerability of a polypill, and its effects on blood pressure and cholesterol in people at increased risk of CVD.

Research has shown that individuals suffering from recurrent headaches have inadequate social support. Research results suggest that it should be possible to increase the effectiveness of headache treatment for individuals who have inadequate support by specifically helping them to increase the size of their social networks and to derive more support from their networks. The proposed study compares a pychological treatment (cognitive behaviour therapy) with a focus on social support, with the same treatment given for the same number of sessions but without a focus on social support. It is predicted that the former approach will work best for individuals with inadequate social support and the latter approach will work best for those with adequate social support. Tension-type headaches are the most common type of primary headache and have the highest socioeconomic impact. The study results will have important implications for our understanding of how tension-type headaches can be managed.

Six months of hormone treatment improves the results of radiotherapy for men with early prostate cancer. This trial will determine if adding another 12 months of hormone treatment after radiotherapy is even better. Bones are often affected by prostate cancer and can also be damaged by prolong hormone treatment. Bisphosphonates are drugs that make bones stronger. This trial will also determine if treatment with a bisphosphonate can help prevent these bone problems.

The proposal in this protocol is to determine (in patients with advanced breast cancer) whether it is better, at disease progression, to continue the policy of substituting the original therapy with a replacement; or alternatively to continue the original treatment and add the new therapy to it, since the existing therapy may be controlling some previously active disease sites.