Protocol Number: 03-C-0277
The experimental therapy for which these cells will be used is called adoptive cell therapy. Patients in this study who are eligible for this experimental treatment will be enrolled in a subsequent treatment protocol, in which their treated cells will be returned to them for evaluation as a cancer-fighting therapy. This protocol deals only with collection and treatment of the cells from patients and healthy volunteers. Healthy normal volunteers and patients with melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) or ovarian cancer 16 years of age and older may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, and blood tests. Participants will undergo the following tests and procedures: Normal Volunteers Normal volunteers will undergo leukapheresis, a procedure for collecting large numbers of white blood cells, at the NIH Blood Bank. Before the procedure, donors will fill out a standard blood donor questionnaire and have a blood test. Their temperature, blood pressure, and pulse will be checked. Hemoglobin will be checked with a finger stick test. For the apheresis, a needle is placed in a vein in each arm. Whole blood is collected through one needle, similar to donating blood. The blood circulates through a machine that separates the white cells from the red cells and plasma by a spinning process. The white cells are then removed and the rest of the blood is returned to the body through a needle in the other arm. Patients Patients will have leukapheresis (described above) or a tumor biopsy, or both. A biopsy is the surgical removal of a piece of tissue or tumor. A biopsy may be performed with a large needle, called a needle biopsy, with a small sharp cookie-cutter instrument, called a punch biopsy, or with a small knife, called an excisional biopsy. The procedure is similar for each. After the skin is cleaned thoroughly, a small amount of numbing medicine is given as a shot into the skin around the biopsy site. Then, if a needle biopsy is being done, a needle is put through the skin into the tumor to pull out a small piece of tumor in the length of the needle. If a punch biopsy is being done, the cookie-cutter instrument is pushed into the numbed skin, and a small piece of tissue is removed. This may require a suture to close the skin. If an excisional biopsy is required, depending on the location to be biopsied, this may be done in the operating room, in the patient's room, or in the clinic. The tissue is removed by cutting a small piece of tumor with a sharp knife or scalpel. This may or may not require a suture to close the skin.
Search The Studies | Help | Questions |
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
Bethesda, Maryland 20892. Last update: 01/30/2009
|
||