Carboplatin and Paclitaxel With or Without Ramucirumab in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced, Recurrent, or Metastatic Thymic Cancer That Cannot Be Removed by Surgery

Inclusion Criteria

• •Patients must have histologically or cytologically confirmed thymic carcinoma; thymic carcinoma may be defined as "thymic epithelial malignancy, consistent with thymic carcinoma", or "World Health Organization (WHO) type C thymic epithelial tumor", or "thymic epithelial malignancy" with radiographic imaging consistent with thymic carcinoma
• •Patients must have unresectable thymic carcinoma, that is either locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic
• •Patients must not be candidates for localized surgery
• •Patients must have measurable disease documented by computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within 28 calendar days prior to randomization; the CT from a combined positron emission tomography (PET)/CT may be used only if it is of diagnostic quality; non-measurable disease must be assessed within 42 calendar days prior to randomization; all known sites of disease must be assessed and documented on the baseline tumor assessment form (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors \[RECIST\] 1.1)
• •Patients must have a Zubrod performance status of 0 to 2
• •Patients must not have undergone major surgery within 28 calendar days prior to randomization, or minor surgery/subcutaneous venous access device placement within 7 calendar days prior to randomization; the patient must not have elective or planned major surgery to be performed during the course of the clinical trial
• •Patients must not have had prior systemic anti-cancer therapy for locally advanced or metastatic unresectable thymic carcinoma
• •If patients have recurrent unresectable thymic carcinoma, patients may have had prior neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy if treatment concluded \>= 6 months prior to randomization
• •Patients must have a CT or MRI scan of the brain to evaluate for central nervous system (CNS) disease within 42 calendar days prior to registration; patient must not have brain metastases unless: (1) metastases have been treated and have remained controlled for at least two weeks following treatment, AND (2) patient has no residual neurological dysfunction off corticosteroids for at least 1 day
• •Patients must not be candidates for radiation therapy with curative intent; prior palliative radiation therapy is allowed as long as a period of 7 days has passed since the last dose was received and the patient has recovered from any associated toxicity at the time of randomization
• +26 more criteria