Active clinical trials for "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

This study will test feasibility, in smokers with lung, head & neck, and bladder cancers, that examines the effect of e-cigarette substitution, on measures of smoking-related toxicity and medical outcomes. The aim of the study is to determine the appeal of e-cigarettes compared to regular combustible cigarettes.

This randomized pilot clinical trial studies the side effects of gabapentin and how well it works when given together with methadone hydrochloride and oxycodone hydrochloride in improving quality of life in patients with stage II-IV head and neck cancer during chemoradiation. Gabapentin, methadone hydrochloride, and oxycodone hydrochloride may help relieve moderate or severe pain caused by head and neck cancer during and after chemoradiation therapy.

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the 6th most common cancer worldwide. In the last decade, there has been made substantial improvements in diagnosis, staging and treatment of HNC. The overall survival has improved, but for some subgroups it is unchanged and therefore new prognostic and surveillance methods are warranted. One of the hallmarks in cancer is the ability to invade the surrounding tissue and metastasize. Studies have shown that the urokinase proteolytic plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) are present at the very front of the invasive tumor and they are considered essential in cancer invasion and metastasis. Consequently, an uPAR-targeted tracer offers a very promising target for functional PET imaging and may be a stronger prognostic marker compared to routine FDG-PET/CT. We wish to clarify how uPAR-PET/CT correlate to patient outcome compared to routine FDG-PET/CT in patients with HNC in the pharynx, larynx and oral cavity, who are referred to curative intended radiotherapy. In this project all participants have an uPAR-PET/CT scan performed before initiation of the routine radiotherapy and the prognostic efficacy is determined by assessment of the recurrence rate and mortality at routine clinical follow-up.

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are standard treatment of head and neck cancer alone or associated to surgical treatment. Early (during treatment or the following weeks) and late side effects contribute to malnutrition in this population at risk. In this context, nutritional support adapted by dietary monitoring and enteral nutrition (nasogastric tube or gastrostomy) are often necessary. The early identification of the patients with high malnutrition risk and requiring enteral nutrition is necessary to improve the tolerance and efficacy of treatment. This prospective study research the factors of malnutrition during head and neck radiotherapy.

This randomized clinical trial studies how well expiratory muscle strength training works in improving bulbar function and quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer. Expiratory muscle strength training may help to strengthen the muscles involved in breathing and swallowing and may allow improved breathing, airway safety, swallow function, and quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer.

The surrounding controversies both advocating and simultaneously opposing the use of vitamin C, mostly extrapolating animal models to human models, it has not been used individually to assess the severity of oral mucositis during chemoradiotherapy. The present study is undertaken to evaluate the effect of vitamin C oral supplements in assessing the severity of oral mucositis during chemoradiotherapy for oral cancer.

Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat advanced cancers of the head and neck, aiming for cure while preserving patients' quality of life including their ability to speak and swallow. In order to reduce the potentially major side effects of treatment, it is essential that the highest doses of radiotherapy are targeted to the main bulk of the tumour. At present a computerized tomography (CT) scan is used by the cancer specialist to identify the tumour for planning the radiotherapy treatment. The investigators know that other types of scan including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans are better than CT scans at showing areas involved by the cancer. However, radiotherapy cannot be directly planned on these types of scans. The aim of this study is to explore whether PET and MRI scans can be combined with CT scans to more accurately identify the tumour target. In addition, this study will explore whether PETCT and MRI scans may used to adjust radiotherapy to how well a tumour is responding during a course of radiotherapy. If the radiotherapy planning process can be improved in these ways, the investigators hope future patients will benefit by more chance of cure with a reduction in the side effects of treatment. The study aims to recruit 16 patients. All patients within the study will undergo a PETCT and an MRI scan prior to starting treatment as part of the study. A subgroup of 8 patients will undergo additional imaging at two timepoints during the course of their radiotherapy. The study is noninterventional and patients' standard treatment will not be affected by their participation in the study.

Clinician directed prophylactic swallowing therapy will improve immediate (four weeks +/- two weeks) and short-term (26 weeks +/- four weeks) post-treatment swallowing function and quality of life versus patient directed home exercises. The purpose of this prospective, interventional, pilot investigation is to determine whether clinician directed swallowing therapy will improve patient swallowing function outcomes and quality of life in the immediate and short-term basis compared to patients receiving standard of care patient directed independent home swallowing therapy. Patient compliance with home exercises programs is reportedly inconsistent. Patients may experience changes in their physical functioning and overall well-being that may impact their ability to follow-through with independent home therapy. Clinician directed swallowing therapy allows for ongoing assessment of changes that may warrant modifying the therapy program in terms of intensity of exercises and/or expectations. This facilitates individualizing the patient's therapy plan to maximize their function and ability to achieve goals. It is anticipated that individualizing swallowing therapy through weekly session will result in improved swallowing function.

Patients treated with Maxillofacial Prosthesis have loss of maxillary and/or mandibular substances. Few data are available on quality of life of these patients and its association with some of their socio-demographic, medical and clinical characteristics.

Nutritional supplements containing antioxidants seem to decrease toxicity associated with Radiotherapy (RT) and Chemotherapy (CT) in patients with malignant head and neck tumors. Oncoxin-Viusid® (OV) is a nutritional supplement with antioxidant, immunomodulator and antitumor effects.