Active clinical trials for "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

PROTOCOL FOR PREVENTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF GLUTAMINE TO AVOID RADIATE SIDE EFFECTS IN PATIENTS UNDER RADIOTHERAPY IN THE CHEST AND HEAD & NECK PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of the protocol is to study the acute and distant toxicity of the mucosa of the oral cavity and esophagus after radiotherapy for head-neck and tumors of the chest. Radiation therapy in all cases is a three-dimensional conformal technique with a linear accelerator. INCLUSION CRITERIA Patients undergoing radiotherapy with or without concomitant chemotherapy for Ca nasopharynx, hypopharynx, palate, tonsils, mouth base, parotid, tongue, cervix and esophagus as well as mediastinal and lung cancer. EXCLUSION CRITERIA Patients with psychiatric problems and inability to cooperate, as well as patients with gluten intolerance, as well as patients with hepatic encephalopathy or hyperammonemia, are excluded from the study. METHODS Oral glutamine administration starting 4 days before the start of radiotherapy and for a total of 3 months. The preparation is dissolved in water and taken orally 4 hours before radiotherapy and 4 hours before dinner. FOLLOW UP Immediately after completion of radiotherapy at 3, 6 and 12 months, orthoscopy (on symptoms) and oral mucosal examination will be performed on patients who have undergone cervical and mediastinal radiotherapy and their evaluation based on the EORTC-RTOG scale. REFERENCES Anderson PM, Schroeder G, Skubitz KM. "Oral glutamine reduces the duration and severity of stomatitis after cytotoxic cancer chemotherapy". Cancer: 1998; 83: 1433-1439. Cerchietti LC, Navigante AH, Lutteral MA, Castro MA, Kirchuk R, Bonomi M et al. "Double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial on intravenous L-alanyl-L-glutamine in the incidence of oral mucosis following chemotherapy in patients with head-and-neck cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2006 Aug 1; 65 (5): 1330-7. Peterson DE, Jones JB, Petit RG 2nd. "Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of Saforis for prevention and treatment of oral mucositis in breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Cancer. 2007 Jan 15; 109(2): 322-31. Kozelsky TF, Meyers GE, Sloan JA, Shanahan TG, Dick SJ et al; North Central Cancer Treatment Group. Mayo Clinic "Phase III double-blind study of glutamine versus placebo for the prevention of acute diarrhea in patients receiving pelvic radiation therapy". J Clin Oncol 2003 May 1; 21 (9):1669-74. Topkan E, Yavuz MN, et al "Prevention of acute radiation-induced esophagitis with glutamine in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with radiotherapy: Evaluation of clinical and dosimetric parameters". Lung Cancer, 2008 August 6. Ismael Membrive Conejo, Ana Reig Castillejo, Nuria Rodriguez de Dios, Palmira Foro Arnalot, Javier Sanz Latiesas, et al: "Prevention of acute radiation enteritis: efficacy and tolerance of glutamine". Clinical and Translational Oncology. Vol 13, Number 10 (2011), 760-763, DOI: 10.1007/st 2094-011-0729-3. Yoshida S, Kaibara A, Ishibashi N, Shirouzu K. "Glutamine supplementation in cancer patients" Nutrition. 2001: 17:766-768. Klimberg SV, McClellan Jl. "Glutamine, cancer and its therapy. Am J Surg. 1996;172: 172:418-424. Rouse K, Nwokedi E, Woodliff JE, Epstein J, Klimberg VS. "Glutamine enhances selectivity of chemotherapy through changes in glutathione metabolism. Ann Surg. 1995; 221:420-426. Baxevanis CN, Reclos GJ, Grittapis AD et al "Elevated PGE2 production by monocytes is responsible for the depressed levels of NK&LAK cell function in patients with breast cancer" Cancer. 1993; 12:491-501. Erdem NZ, Yasti AC, Atli M, et al. "The effects of perioperative oral enteral support with glutamine added elemental formulas in patients with gastrointestinal cancers: a prospective randomized clinical study. Nutr Res.2002:22:977-988. Berk L, James J, Schwartz A, Hug E, Mahadevan A, Samuels M et al. "A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a beta hydroxyl beta-methyl butyrate, glutamine, and arginine mixture for the treatment of cancer cachexia". Support Care Cancer. 2008 Oct; 16 (10): 1179-88. Epub 2008 Feb 22.

Counteracting misinformation on childhood vaccines remains a priority for public health in industrialized countries. Previous research showed that misinformation-induced vaccine hesitancy particularly concerns very highly or very lowly educated parents, and, especially in Europe, specific groups of immigrants. Misinformation framing directly targets specific sub-population of parents by exploiting different cognitive biases, and specific concerns based on cultural norms: this project aims at testing the effectiveness of similar framing techniques applied to positive information on the HPV vaccine by conducting a Randomized Controlled Trial in Stockholm, Sweden. It randomizes emotionally and scientifically/statistically framed information addressing the specific concerns reported by previous literature.

A cross-sectional study will be conducted to report oral complications during chemo and radiotherapy treatment in case of patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer and the effect of theses oral side effects on patients' quality of life which will in turn allow the implication of preventive measures

RATIONALE: Diagnostic procedures, such as positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanning before surgery, may help measure the extent of disease. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying PET/CT scanning before surgery in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, or head and neck cancer.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether [18F]-ML-10 used in conjunction with PET imaging is effective as an imaging tool for the early detection of response of oncological tumors in the lungs,head and neck to chemoradiation therapy. The study will evaluate the potential of [18F]-ML-10 used in conjunction with PET imaging to distinguish early during the course of chemoradiation therapy between a tumor that responds to the therapy, and a tumor that does not respond to the therapy. Currently, this distinction is available to the physician several weeks or months after completion of therapy, using anatomical imaging (for example Computed Tomography [CT] or Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MRI]).

This study will evaluate the role of cyclooxygenase pathways in radiation-induced and chemoradiation-induced mucositis.

RATIONALE: Studying samples of blood and tumor tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about changes that occur in DNA and identify biomarkers related to cancer. It may also help doctors understand how patients respond to treatment. PURPOSE: This research study is studying biomarkers of response in blood and tumor tissue samples from patients with unresectable stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck previously treated with cetuximab, cisplatin, and radiation therapy.

RATIONALE: Studying samples of tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors predict how well patients will respond to treatment. PURPOSE: This research study is studying biomarkers in tissue samples from patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer treated on ECOG-E1395 and ECOG-E3301.

RATIONALE: Collecting information about the impact of lymphedema on symptoms, functional status, and quality of life after treatment in patients with head and neck cancer may help doctors learn more about the disease and plan the best treatment. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the effects of secondary lymphedema on symptoms, functional status, and quality of life after treatment in patients with head and neck cancer.

RATIONALE: Studying samples of blood in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about cancer. It may also help doctors predict how well patients will respond to treatment. PURPOSE: This research study is looking at proteins in blood samples to predict treatment benefit in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell head and neck cancer.