Active clinical trials for "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

An open-label, non-randomized study to assess the titration, safety and efficacy of intranasal fentanyl pectin nasal spray for the treatment of secondary breakthrough pain secondary to radiation-induced mucositis in patients with confirmed tolerance of opioid therapy for chronic pain. Study objectives include assessment of breakthrough pain episodes related with food intake in patients with mucositis secondary to radiotherapy or radio-chemotherapy for head and neck tumors

The investigators suppose: 1. SND may cause damage to the soft tissue around shoulder girdle. 2. The soft tissue injury may be related with the order of severity of wing scapula and duration after SND. The aims of this study are: 1. To assess the functional disabilities of shoulder and upper extremity in different time period after SND. 2. To evaluate the soft tissue lesion of shoulder with soft tissue ultrasonography to prove our hypothesis. This study is a two years, prospective, cross-section study. The investigators will enroll 80 HNC post SND within 3months, >3- 6months,> 6months -1 year, more than 1 year as four different groups, 20 patient in each group.

In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the presence of lymph node metastases in addition to free resection margins following surgical resection of the primary tumor is an important prognostic factor, and may impact planning of surgery as well as of radiotherapy. Until now, imaging modalities including PET/CT and MRI did not allow to exclude especially small lymph node metastases. Compared to standard whole-body PET/CT acquisition techniques, high-resolution (HR) head and neck PET/CT acquisitions promise improved detection of lymph node metastases in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This prospective study aims to determine the sensitivity and specificity of lymph node staging with HR FDG-PET/CT in HNSCC by correlating PET/CT with histopathology after neck dissection. HR PET/CT may have a relevant impact on the therapeutic concept, and the planning and dose prescription of radiotherapy.

This study aims to investigate whether the intraoperative use of the FloTrac device to guide fluid and vasopressor management during head and neck free flap surgery improves postoperative outcome. Primary postoperative outcome is length of hospital stay. Secondary postoperative outcomes include days in ICU, days on ventilator, presence of postoperative pulmonary edema, need for postoperative vasopressors or transfusions, 30 day flap complication rate, inpatient postoperative cardiorespiratory complications/events, and overall 30 day flap failure rate.

60 post operative patients who are kept intubated overnight & are spontaneously breathing will be either supplied humidified oxygen Heated Humidifier(HH) or conventional mist nebulizer. Temperature of inspired gas at the Y piece will be measured. Sterile water will be used for HH & Mist nebuliser. The suctioning of endotracheal tube (ETT) will be done once every 2 hourly by nurse/ doctor/trained personnel and additional suctioning if required.

This pilot clinical trial studies how well head and neck maskless immobilization device works in immobilizing patients with head and neck cancers or intracranial tumors undergoing radiation therapy. Maskless immobilization device may help to prevent movement of head during radiation therapy and immobilize patients with the same accuracy and reliability as the standard thermoplastic mask routinely used for patients receiving radiation therapy.

This study is a phase II trial designed to test the feasibility of delivering IMRT to head and neck cancer patients with tumours arising in the midline (oropharynx and hypopharynx), and to assess possible improvement in reducing the incidence of xerostomia with bilateral superficial lobe parotid sparing IMRT.

Communication is an important component of comprehensive cancer care impacting patient satisfaction, adherence, and quality of life. The wide array of issues addressed in cancer clinical interactions makes communicating about a broad range of topics (including quality of life, communication, symptom control, complementary/alternative therapies, costs, treatment burden, prognosis, anxiety, side-effects, sexual function, palliative care options, etc.) especially interesting and potentially challenging. Some of these topics may not be routinely addressed in the clinical interaction or may require consultative support from other members of the comprehensive cancer care team. One frequently overlooked critical element in research on communication between cancer clinicians, their patients, and their primary care clinicians is describing real-time consultations between patients and their clinicians. These interactions provide rich material for assessing key psycho-social dynamics and identifying issues that patients find important in their care. In order to devise systems of care that optimize the patient experience, it is critical that clinicians and researchers understand, appreciate, and systematically characterize the richness and complexity of the decision-making process in routine cancer consultations between cancer patients and their treating clinicians. This study seeks to assess the patient experience in cancer care by observing patients and their physicians in their clinical interactions and following them for several months to see how their care went. By describing in-depth the conversations and experiences of patients in these clinical interactions, this study will lay the foundation for practice-based interventions to optimize patients' interactions with their cancer care teams.

Radiation therapy of the head and neck cancer patients causes late oral radiation complications such as xerostomia (dry mouth) or mucosal atrophy. Currently, methods such as hyperbaric oxygen are used to treat these complications; however, there are no quantifiable means of assessing the outcome of these methods. At present, subjective methods such as superficial examination of the oral cavity are used, yet complications are known to mostly start in the subsurface layers. In this feasibility study, we apply an imaging technique called optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a means of providing objective and quantifiable images of the subsurface micro-structural and micro-vascular changes of oral tissue. Depth-resolved, micrometer-resolution OCT images provide information on changes associated with late radiation complications.

The purpose of the research study is to evaluate effectiveness and the quality of life, specifically the risk of dry mouth, after radiation treatment for head and neck cancers.