Active clinical trials for "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety, pharmacokinetics, efficacy of bivatuzumab mertansine

This phase I trial studies the side effects and best dose of cetuximab when given together with everolimus in treating patients with metastatic or recurrent colon cancer or head and neck cancer. Monoclonal antibodies, such as cetuximab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of the tumor to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Everolimus may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking blood flow to the tumor. Giving cetuximab together with everolimus may be an effective treatment for colon cancer or head and neck cancer

This study will evaluate the ability of grape exosomes, given to the subject as grape powder, as an important anti-inflammatory agent to reduce the incidence of oral mucositis during radiation and chemotherapy treatment for head and neck tumors.

The investigators are conducting research about oral health and saliva to find out more about the impact of radiation therapy on the oral health of patients. In order to better understand the role of saliva in maintaining oral health in these patients, the investigators will be collecting, storing, and analyzing the quality of saliva, including the protein content, collected from patients following radiation therapy as well as saliva collected from normal healthy adults.

A randomized clinical trial was initiated to investigate whether a reduction of the dose to the elective nodal sites and the swallowing apparatus delivered by IMRT would result in a reduction of acute and late side effects without compromising tumor control.

The purpose of this study is to explore the activity of ZD1839 added to concurrent chemoradiotherapy and as adjuvant monotherapy in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer. Activity is described in terms of response rate (complete responses only).

Sixty patients with advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck will be enrolled in this study. Patients are treated with standard chemoradiation in combination with concurrent add-on cetuximab. Subsequently patients are randomized to cetuximab consolidation therapy (three months, Arm A) versus no consolidation therapy (Arm B). The aim of this study is to investigate if cetuximab consolidation therapy improves the 2-year locoregional control rate. Trial with medicinal product Trial with radiotherapy

Docetaxel and cetuximab are FDA-approved for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Cisplatin and carboplatin, while not FDA-approved for SCCHN, have been used as standard of care in SCCHN patients in combination with other drugs. This study evaluates if weekly cisplatin and docetaxel, in combination with cetuximab, is effective in palliative treatment of patients with SCCHN. These drugs will be given intravenously weekly, repeated 3 of every 4 weeks until evidence of disease progression or unacceptable adverse events.

More than 50% of Head and Neck cancers are locally advanced at presentation. Although surgery, in combination with other modalities like radiation therapy can achieve 40-50% five year survival rates, resection in the head and neck region can leave patients with poor functional and cosmetic outcomes. Due to these concerns about quality of life after surgery, there has been a lot of interest in non surgical alternatives of treatment. Various combinations of radiation, chemotherapy and biologics has showed promising results. However, questions still remain about the ideal combination treatment regimen. Based on assimilation of data from multiple sources, our study tries to identify the role of a potentially highly effective multi-modality regimen based on induction chemotherapy (Cisplatin, Docetaxel and 5 Fluorouracil) followed by combination of a biologic agent, Cetuximab, and radiation therapy.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is often over-expressed, and have been related to poor prognosis in patients with HNSCC. EGFR targeting strategies showed clinical anti-tumor efficacy in patients with HNSCC. PF-00299804 is a second-generation quinazoline-based irreversible pan-HER inhibitor. In preclinical studies, PF-00299804 has much lower IC50 values than gefitinib in cell lines engineered to express EGFRvIII mutations (1.2 nM versus 2,700 nM) and produces tumor growth inhibition in gefitinib-resistant xenografts. A phase II trial of PF-00299804 in patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC is currently ongoing and preliminary report in ASCO 2010 showed its anti-tumor activity against HNSCC. The investigators suggest a phase II trial of pan-HER inhibitor PF-00299804 in patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.