Active clinical trials for "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

This randomized phase 3 trial studies how well modified Dakin's solution works in reducing radiation-induced dermatitis, a common skin reaction to radiation therapy, in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiation therapy. Modified Dakin's solution may reduce inflammation in the body, which may prevent or reduce dermatitis after radiation therapy. Radiation therapy in this study is regulatory medical care based on the patient's needs and the radiation oncologist's judgment. It is not possible nor necessary to explicitly define the dose or duration of treatment.

The purpose of this study is to determine if Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) can reduce pain perception associated with the effects of receiving definitive radiation therapy or chemoradiotherapy in head and neck cancer (HNCa) patients.

By teaching skills to improve the coordination of care and support in couples coping with head and neck cancer (HNC), this couple-based psychosocial intervention holds great promise for improving self-management, reducing costly hospitalizations and treatment interruptions, and improving both partners' quality of life. Home-based delivery will enhance future dissemination and outreach to those who do not have access to psychosocial services or live far away from their care centers. If found effective, the intervention may also have salutary downstream effects on the health and well-being of HNC patients and their partners.

Patients treated for head and neck cancer (HNC) suffer from severe side-effects such as pain and difficulties in swallowing, often leading to weight loss. More than 70 % of the weight loss is attributed to lean muscle wasting that is associated with decline in physical function, substantial fatigue and significantly decreased quality of life. Rehabilitation that includes physical exercise, nutritional counselling and oral nutritional supplements (ONS) can potentially reduce or prevent muscle wasting. The primary aim of this pilot randomised trial is to assess feasibility, evaluate patient experiences and assess preliminary effects on muscle mass, physical function, nutritional status and quality of life of rehabilitation interventions during and after radiotherapy (RT). Newly diagnosed HNC patients referred for curative RT with or without chemotherapy, will be randomised to a) rehabilitation during RT or b) rehabilitation after RT. Rehabilitation during RT will be carried out at an outpatient facility during the treatment period (6-7 weeks) and rehabilitation after RT will be carried at a rehabilitation centre and last for 3 weeks.

Patients with Head & Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma often need a gastrostomy. It can be performed with a radiological approach. This procedure is usually not performed under general anesthesia, but local anesthesia is not sufficient to counteract pain due to gastric insufflation and incision of the abdominal wall. Standard analgesic treatments are usually not well-fitted due to onset of action or route of administration. An alternative solution could be fentanyl nasal spray, a treatment with a fast onset of action and with easy use allowing repetition if needed, during the procedure. The purpose of this study is to compare analgesic efficacy of nasal instillation of PECFENT® to usually administered morphinic analgesic treatment with fast onset of action (ORAMORPH®), in radiologic percutaneous gastrostomy tube placement: during the procedure following the procedure (measured by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for Pain at 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours and 12 hours after procedure). Secondary purposes are to compare easiness of 2 treatments and their adverse effects.

The rapidly increasing mortality and incidence of oral cancer has become a public health major problem in Taiwan. To date, the treatment of head and neck cancer mainly include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy might have an influence on the patients' diet by causing dismal side effects, including nausea, vomiting, pain, infection, dysorexia, allotriogeustia, oral ulceration and dysphagia, which make the patients more difficult to absorb nutrients. In the previous study, the incidence of malnutrition among the patients with cancer has been estimated at between 40 and 80%, especially occurred in the patients with head and neck cancers and upper gastrointestinal cancers. In this study, the effect of supplement with L-Glutamine on the nutritional status and radiation-induced toxicity of head and neck cancer patients will be evaluated to improve the patients' quality of life when they are undergoing radiotherapy. When the head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, patients' instructions and nutrient intervention of L-Glutamine are performed to maintain the patients' nutritional status and reduce the patients' diet-related or other side effects caused by radiotherapy. It is anticipated that head and neck cancer patients with surgery and radiotherapy intake with L-Glutamine might decrease treatment-related side effects and hence improve their quality of life when they are undergoing radiotherapy.

Head and neck cancer patients often experience a critical weight loss of around 10% following radiation therapy. Of this up to 70% is muscle mass and is an independent predictor of mortality, lowers muscle strength and functional performance. The purpose of this study is in a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effects of progressive resistance training (PRET) on changes in muscle mass, muscle strength and functional performance in head and neck cancer survivors. The investigators hypothesize that PRET has a positive effect on all primary endpoints and increases muscle mass, muscle strength and functional performance.

RATIONALE: Studying samples of tumor tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about how interleukin-2, interleukin-12, and GM-CSF delivered in microspheres increase the body's ability to kill tumor cells. PURPOSE: This laboratory study is looking at microsphere-delivered cytokines to see if they increase tumor response in lymphocytes from patients with head and neck cancer.

To test the effects of nutrition versus nutrition with resistance exercise on muscle mass loss, fatigue and outcomes of concurrent chemo radiation.

GM-CSF may protect normal cells from the side effects, such as mucositis, of radiation therapy and may help damaged tissue heal faster after radiation therapy. This randomized clinical trial is studying how well GM-CSF works in preventing and treating mucositis in patients who are undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.