Active clinical trials for "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

The study evaluates the effects of the drug Metformin on the oxygen content in cancer tissue. Low oxygen concentration in cancer tissue accelerates cancer growth. Moreover, the response to radiation therapy is worse when tissue oxygen is low, because radiation therapy depends on oxygen to unfold therapeutic effects. Metformin has been used to treat type II diabetes for over 50 years and features additional properties that could slow down cancer growth. One of these properties is the improved oxygen concentration in cancer tissue. This effect has been proven for various cancers. This study was planned to verify this effect in head and neck cancer. Patients who suffer from cancer of the mouth and are planned for surgical removal of the cancer will be given Metformin for 9 to 14 days. The tissue removed in the subsequent surgery will be compared to a tissue sample that had been taken from the same patient prior to Metformin intake. To evaluate the oxygen content in the tissue samples, the expression of genes that react to oxygen levels will be measured and compared between the samples taken before and after treatment with Metformin. A secondary aim is to evaluate whether changes in the oxygen content within the tumor can be visualized by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Therefore, participants undergo an MRI scan, before and after Treatment with Metformin. The changes in the MRI will be correlated to the changes measured in gene expression.

Oral Mucositis (OM) is a painful and debilitating side effect of many of the drug/radiation regimens used to treat cancer. This study examines the investigational drug brilacidin and its possible application in prevention of oral mucositis in patients undergoing chemoradiation for treatment of head and neck cancer.

This pilot clinical trial studies a pain management smartphone application for monitoring pain in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who are undergoing radiation therapy. The study is also open to patients with esophageal or lung cancer. A smartphone application may allow patients to assess their symptoms in a manner that is closer to real-time than having to recall pain episodes during once weekly on-treatment visits with a health care provider. This real-time monitoring may improve the timing and efficacy of interventions leading to better pain-control and quality of life.

The purpose of this study is to explore whether early initiated physical exercise concurrent with a swallowing and mouth opening exercise program will have a positive effect on swallowing function and other quality of life aspects in patients treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. The investigators hypothesize that patients who complete the program will have improved swallowing function and physical function one year after completing their treatment compared to patients who do not participate in the training program.

This is a two arm randomised phase III trial which will evaluate prospectively the benefits of humidification in patients receiving radiotherapy / chemoradiation for head and neck cancer. The intent of humidification is to moisturise the mucosa. The rationale for the use of humidification with radiotherapy can be considered an extension of the general principle of moist wound care in wound management.

Patient-reported information on outcomes such as symptom-burden and health-related quality of life (QoL) is regarded as a useful tool to improve quality of care in clinical cancer research. However, integrating patient-reported information in the routine clinical practice is often difficult due to excessive time use and practical barriers. Electronic data acquisitions, where the treating physician has immediately access to the patient-reported data in the subsequent consultation, have been shown to be beneficial in the everyday clinical decision making. The aim of this study is to develop and test a computer-based patient-reported assessment tool that will assist the clinicians in tracking long term and late effects in head and neck cancer patients and investigate if the tool leads to improved symptom assessment of a range of head and neck cancer specific symptoms, which again may lead to improved symptom control and enhanced quality of life in the patients. Patients with a diagnosis of head and neck cancer attending the oncology outpatient clinics at Herlev Hospital and physicians and nurses who work at the clinic will be invited to participate. The assessment tool will be developed with inspiration from prior international studies of symptom assessment in head and neck cancer patients and tailored so that it will fit into a Danish context. The tool will be tested in a controlled intervention study. In the intervention group, patients will complete the assessment tool in the patients waiting area prior to every scheduled consultation. The result will then be printed and provided to the treating physician. In the control group, the patients will complete the assessment tool prior to consultations. However, the data will not be provided to the physicians at any time. To assess the impact of the tool on number of symptoms addressed during consultations and patients' overall quality of life, medical records will be reviewed for before start of intervention and again at 6 and 12 months follow-up. The patients will also complete the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the EORTC QLQ-H&N35 at baseline and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. Furthermore, we will conduct a qualitative evaluation (semi structured interview and participant observations) of attitudes among clinicians and patients regarding the use of tool at the point of care.

This research aims to evaluate the absorption and elimination profile of a bioactive compound PEITC in the matrix of Nutri-jelly - a novel edible nutritious gel. Thus, the investigators conducted a pharmacokinetic study in 12 head and neck cancer survivors. After consumed a serving of Nutri-jelly containing 20 mg PEITC, plasma levels of PEITC at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours were specifically measured by ammonia derivatization and analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis was performed.

The aim for the present study named RAREST (RAdiotherapy RElated Skin Toxicity) is to compare the new dressing with the standard skin care. 168 patients receiving radiotherapy alone or radiochemotherapy for locally advanced head-and-neck cancer will be included. The primary aim is to investigate the rate of patients experiencing severe, stressful radiation dermatitis. The skin status will daily be inspected and assessed by specially trained doctors and nursing staff. It is expected that the new self-adhesive dressing is superior to standard care with respect to prevention of grade ≥2 radiation dermatitis in patients receiving radiotherapy or radio(chemo)therapy for a head-and-neck tumor. Thus, the dressing would be well qualified to become a new standard procedure at the skin care of patients with a head-neck tumor.

The Stanford Cancer Center is undertaking a Transformation Initiative in order to improve the quality of care and care coordination across the continuum of care. The newest innovation is to introduce lay navigators to specified high-need patients. The larger goal of the project is to assess whether lay navigators can address non-clinical patient needs in a timely fashion and appropriately connect them with their clinical team when warranted. It is expected that proactive interaction with patients will decrease patient anxiety/stress related to their cancer and facilitate higher patient engagement and improved management of physical, social,and emotional health. For the pilot project, the smaller goal is to understand: how lay navigator time is used; the types and frequency of issues brought up by patients; resources that patients are given or referred to; type and frequency of mode of contact with patients; and patients' acceptance of navigators based on refusal. An electronic intake form will be used to collect this information so that data can be analyzed regularly to inform changes to the navigator program as needed.

This is a pilot non-intervention study that aims to introduce PET/MRI, a state of the art new imaging technique, into the radiotherapy treatment pathway of patients with head and neck cancer. Ultimately the investigators aim to establish appropriate scanning and image registration protocols, to allow progression to a randomized trial of adaptive radiotherapy dose escalation. The latter is thought to potentially improve outcomes in this group. Ten patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx, planned for radical treatment with radiotherapy (+/-chemotherapy), will be recruited. Study participants will have two PET/MRI scans, with the radiotherapy immobilization devices in situ. The first will be done prior to the start of radiotherapy, the second half way through treatment. Image quality will be assessed by comparing to standard diagnostic scans and different registration methods will be compared to establish the best way of incorporating PET/MR image data into the radiotherapy planning system. Patient tolerability and workflow considerations will also be qualitatively assessed. Furthermore, a planning study will be conducted to establish relevant treatment protocols for a subsequent dose escalation trial. PET/MRI is an exciting new technology with a lot of potential in the context of adaptive radiotherapy dose escalation. Within this pilot study the investigators aim to address the technical challenges of using it in this context prior to proceeding to a randomized trial.