Radiation Therapy With or Without Cetuximab in Treating Patients Who Have Undergone Surgery for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
Head and Neck Cancer
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Head and Neck Cancer focused on measuring stage III squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, stage III verrucous carcinoma of the larynx, stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, stage IV verrucous carcinoma of the larynx, stage III squamous cell carcinoma of the lip and oral cavity, stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the lip and oral cavity, stage III verrucous carcinoma of the oral cavity, stage IV verrucous carcinoma of the oral cavity, stage III squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, tongue cancer
Eligibility Criteria
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
Histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma (including variants, such as verrucous carcinoma, spindle cell carcinoma, or carcinoma not otherwise specified) of the head and neck, including the following subtypes:
- Oral cavity
- Oropharynx
- Larynx
Clinical stage T1, N1-2, M0 OR T2-4a, N0-2, M0 disease based on the following diagnostic workup within the past 8 weeks:
- General history and physical examination by a Radiation Oncologist and/or Medical Oncologist
- Chest x-ray or chest CT scan (with or without contrast) or chest CT/PET scan (with or without contrast)
Must have undergone gross total resection of the primary tumor with curative intent within the past 7 weeks with surgical pathology demonstrating ≥ 1 of the following criteria for "intermediate" risk of recurrence:
- Perineural invasion
- Lymphovascular invasion
- Single lymph node > 3 cm or ≥ 2 lymph nodes (all < 6 cm) (no extracapsular extension)
- Close margin(s) of resection, defined as cancer extending to within 5 mm of a surgical margin, and/or an initially focally positive margin that is subsequently superseded by intraoperative negative margins (similarly, patients whose tumors had focally positive margins in the main specimen but negative margins from re-excised samples in the region of the positive margin are eligible)
- Pathologically confirmed T3 or T4a primary tumor
- T2 oral cavity cancer with > 5 mm depth of invasion
- No positive margin(s) (defined as tumor present at the cut or inked edge of the tumor), nodal extracapsular extension, and/or gross residual disease after surgery
PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
- Zubrod performance status 0-1
- Absolute granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm³
- Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
- Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL (transfusion or other intervention allowed)
- Total bilirubin < 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) < 3 times ULN
- Serum creatinine < 2 times ULN OR creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min
- Not pregnant or nursing
- Negative pregnancy test
- Fertile patients must use effective contraception
- No other invasive malignancy within the past 3 years, except for nonmelanomatous skin cancer or previously treated carcinoma in situ of the breast, oral cavity, or cervix
- No simultaneous primary or bilateral tumors
No severe, active co-morbidity, including any of the following:
- Unstable angina and/or congestive heart failure requiring hospitalization within the past 6 months
- Transmural myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
- Acute bacterial or fungal infection requiring IV antibiotics at the time of study registration
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation or other respiratory illness requiring hospitalization or precluding study therapy
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis or other severe interstitial lung disease that requires oxygen therapy or is thought to have required oxygen therapy within the past year
- Hepatic insufficiency resulting in clinical jaundice and/or coagulation defects
- AIDS based on current Centers for Disease Control (CDC) definition
Grade 3-4 electrolyte abnormalities according to CTCAE, v. 4, including any of the following:
- Serum calcium (ionized or adjusted for albumin) < 7 mg/dL or > 12.5 mg/dL*
- Glucose < 40 mg/dL or > 250 mg/dL
- Magnesium < 0.9 mg/dL or > 3 mg/dL*
- Potassium < 3.0 mmol/L or > 6 mmol/L*
- Sodium < 130 mmol/L or > 155 mmol/L* NOTE: *Despite intervention to normalize levels.
- No prior allergic reaction to cetuximab
PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
- See Disease Characteristics
No prior systemic chemotherapy or anti-epidermal growth factor (EGF) therapy for this cancer
- Prior chemotherapy or anti-EGF therapy for a different cancer allowed
- No prior radiotherapy to the region of the study cancer that would result in overlap of radiotherapy fields
- No concurrent amifostine as a radioprotector
- No concurrent granulocyte colony-stimulating factor or erythropoietin
Sites / Locations
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Arizona Oncology Associates-West Orange Grove
- Sutter Cancer Centers Radiation Oncology Services-Auburn
- Sutter Cancer Centers Radiation Oncology Services-Cameron Park
- Mercy San Juan Medical Center
- City of Hope
- UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
- Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center
- Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center
- University of Southern California/Norris Cancer Center
- Memorial Medical Center
- Bay Area Tumor Institute CCOP
- Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
- Sutter Cancer Centers Radiation Oncology Services-Roseville
- The Permanente Medical Group-Roseville Radiation Oncology
- Sutter General Hospital
- University of California at Davis Cancer Center
- Mercy General Hospital Radiation Oncology Center
- Saint Helena Hospital
- UCSF-Mount Zion
- Kaiser Permanente Medical Center - Santa Clara
- Stanford University Hospitals and Clinics
- Sutter Cancer Centers Radiation Oncology Services-Vacaville
- Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers-Aurora
- University of Colorado Cancer Center - Anschutz Cancer Pavilion
- Penrose-Saint Francis Healthcare
- Porter Adventist Hospital
- Swedish Medical Center
- Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers-Littleton
- Saint Vincent's Medical Center
- Yale University
- William Backus Hospital
- Christiana Care Health System-Christiana Hospital
- University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at Deerfield Beach
- Mayo Clinic in Florida
- University of Miami Miller School of Medicine-Sylvester Cancer Center
- Baptist Hospital of Miami
- Florida Hospital
- UF Cancer Center at Orlando Health
- Emory University/Winship Cancer Institute
- Atlanta VA Medical Center
- Northeast Georgia Medical Center
- Memorial Health University Medical Center
- Saint Joseph's-Candler Health System
- Queen's Medical Center
- University of Hawaii
- The Cancer Center of Hawaii-Liliha
- Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center
- John H Stroger Jr Hospital of Cook County
- University of Illinois
- NorthShore University HealthSystem-Evanston Hospital
- Ingalls Memorial Hospital
- Hines Veterans Administration Hospital
- Loyola University Medical Center
- Saint John's Hospital
- Memorial Medical Center
- Carle Cancer Center
- Radiation Oncology Associates PC
- Parkview Hospital Randallia
- IU Health Methodist Hospital
- Community Regional Cancer Care-East Radiation Oncology
- Community Regional Cancer Care-North
- IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital
- McFarland Clinic PC-William R Bliss Cancer Center
- Iowa Methodist Medical Center
- Mercy Medical Center - Des Moines
- University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
- Siouxland Hematology Oncology Associates
- University of Kansas Medical Center
- University of Kentucky
- The James Graham Brown Cancer Center at University of Louisville
- Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
- Tulane University Health Sciences Center
- Touro Infirmary
- Central Maine Medical Center
- University of Maryland/Greenebaum Cancer Center
- Peninsula Regional Medical Center
- Tufts Medical Center
- Boston Medical Center
- Lahey Hospital and Medical Center
- Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital
- University of Michigan
- Oakwood Hospital
- Wayne State University/Karmanos Cancer Institute
- Henry Ford Hospital
- Saint John Hospital and Medical Center
- West Michigan Cancer Center
- Saint Mary's of Michigan
- Saint John Macomb-Oakland Hospital
- Mercy Hospital
- Saint Luke's Hospital of Duluth
- Unity Hospital
- Minnesota Oncology Hematology PA-Maplewood
- Mayo Clinic
- Regions Hospital
- University of Mississippi Medical Center
- Singing River Hospital
- Cape Radiation Oncology
- University of Missouri - Ellis Fischel
- Kansas City Cancer Centers - North
- Kansas City Cancer Center-Lee's Summit
- Saint Louis University Hospital
- Washington University School of Medicine
- Siteman Cancer Center-South County
- Missouri Baptist Medical Center
- Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital
- Saint John's Mercy Medical Center
- Siteman Cancer Center - Saint Peters
- Mercy Hospital Springfield
- CoxHealth South Hospital
- Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center
- Nebraska Methodist Hospital
- The Nebraska Medical Center
- Renown Regional Medical Center
- Exeter Hospital
- Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at Basking Ridge
- Cooper Hospital University Medical Center
- Fox Chase Cancer Center at Virtua Memorial Hospital of Burlington County
- Saint Peter's University Hospital
- UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School
- Sparta Cancer Treatment Center
- MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper-Voorhees
- University of New Mexico
- New York Oncology Hematology PC - Albany
- Maimonides Medical Center
- Sands Cancer Center
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Commack
- Beth Israel Medical Center
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Highland Hospital
- University Radiation Oncology
- University of Rochester
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Rockville Centre
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center at Sleepy Hallow
- Mission Hospital-Memorial Campus
- University of North Carolina
- Wayne Radiation Oncology
- Kinston Medical Specialists PA
- Cancer Centers of North Carolina
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences
- Roger Maris Cancer Center
- Summa Akron City Hospital/Cooper Cancer Center
- Akron General Medical Center
- Summa Barberton Hospital
- Mercy Medical Center
- Geaugra Hospital
- University of Cincinnati
- Case Western Reserve University
- Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center/Fairview Hospital
- Cleveland Clinic Foundation
- Ohio State University Medical Center
- Mercy Cancer Center-Elyria
- Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center Independence
- Hillcrest Hospital Cancer Center
- Summa Health Center at Lake Medina
- Lake University Ireland Cancer Center
- Southwest General Health Center Ireland Cancer Center
- UHHS-Chagrin Highlands Medical Center
- Saint Charles Hospital
- Robinson Radiation Oncology
- North Coast Cancer Care
- Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center-Strongsville
- Flower Hospital
- University Pointe
- UHHS-Westlake Medical Center
- Cleveland Clinic Wooster Specialty Center
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
- Clackamas Radiation Oncology Center
- Willamette Valley Cancer Center
- Providence Portland Medical Center
- Western Oncology Research Consortium
- Providence Saint Vincent Medical Center
- Oregon Health and Science University
- Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center
- Salem Hospital
- Lehigh Valley Hospital
- Geisinger Medical Center
- Northeast Radiation Oncology Center
- Pocono Medical Center
- Adams Cancer Center
- Cherry Tree Cancer Center
- Saint Mary Medical and Regional Cancer Center
- University of Pennsylvania/Abramson Cancer Center
- Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
- Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Albert Einstein Medical Center
- Reading Hospital
- WellSpan Health-York Hospital
- AnMed Health Cancer Center
- Medical University of South Carolina
- Greenville Health System Cancer Institute-Faris
- Greenville Health System Cancer Institute/Greenville CCOP
- Gibbs Cancer Center-Pelham
- Spartanburg Regional Medical Center
- Greenville Health System Cancer Institute-Spartanburg
- Rapid City Regional Hospital
- Sanford Cancer Center-Oncology Clinic
- Wellmont Holston Valley Hospital and Medical Center
- Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
- Texas Oncology-Austin Midtown
- Texas Oncology - Central Austin Cancer Center
- Texas Oncology - South Austin Cancer Center
- Texas Oncology PA - Bedford
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Texas Oncology-Denton South
- The Klabzuba Cancer Center
- Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center
- Ben Taub General Hospital
- M D Anderson Cancer Center
- Texas Oncology-Seton Williamson
- Texas Oncology - Round Rock Cancer Center
- Cancer Care Centers of South Texas- Northeast
- University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- Texas Cancer Center-Sherman
- Texas Oncology Cancer Center Sugar Land
- Texas Oncology-Wichita Falls Texoma Cancer Center
- Intermountain Medical Center
- Dixie Medical Center Regional Cancer Center
- Utah Cancer Specialists-Salt Lake City
- Huntsman Cancer Institute/University of Utah
- LDS Hospital
- University of Virginia
- Sentara Cancer Institute at Sentara CarePlex Hospital
- Sentara Hospitals
- Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital
- Harrison Medical Center
- Tri-Cities Cancer Center
- Skagit Valley Hospital
- University of Washington Medical Center
- Cancer Care Northwest - Spokane South
- Cancer Care Northwest-North Spokane
- Northwest CCOP
- PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center
- Compass Oncology Vancouver
- Wenatchee Valley Medical Center
- West Virginia University Healthcare
- Wheeling Hospital
- Langlade Hospital and Cancer Center
- Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology
- Saint Vincent Hospital
- Gundersen Lutheran
- University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
- Bay Area Medical Center
- Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin
- Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center
- Door County Cancer Center
- Aspirus Regional Cancer Center
- Cross Cancer Institute
- CancerCare Manitoba
- Doctor H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Centre
- London Regional Cancer Program
- Ottawa Health Research Institute-General Division
- Health Sciences North
- University Health Network-Princess Margaret Hospital
- CHUM - Hopital Notre-Dame
- McGill University Department of Oncology
- CHUQ - Pavilion Hotel-Dieu de Quebec
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke-Fleurimont
- Allan Blair Cancer Centre
- Chinese University of Hong Kong-Prince of Wales Hospital
- King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Active Comparator
Experimental
Arm I: Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy
Arm II: IMRT plus cetuximab
Patients undergo intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) once daily 5 days a week for 6 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Patients undergo IMRT as in arm I. Patients also receive cetuximab IV over 1-2 hours once weekly beginning at least 5 days prior to the start of IMRT and continuing for 4 weeks after the completion of IMRT (for a total of 11 doses) in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.