Active clinical trials for "Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms"

A circulating tumor cell (CTC) count is an established prognostic factor in some malignancies such as metastatic breast cancer. However, the value of CTC in diagnosis and outcome prediction of metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (mNPC) patients is not unknown. Through the observational prospective clinical trial, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of CTC in diagnosis of mNPC patients will be gained. Further, the value of CTC in outcome prediction of mNPC patients will be uncovered.

The primary objective of this chart review study is to evaluate the outcomes of subjects with Attenuated Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (AFAP) and Deleterious Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) who have not undergone surgical resection of the colon. A secondary objective of this study is to compare 1) the colonoscopic and pathology histories including history of ampullary adenoma in the duodenum over family generations, 2) the use of chemopreventive medications, and 3) clinical features of subjects who pursued prophylactic surgical resection of the colon with those that have elected to continue routine colonoscopic surveillance in an effort to better characterize factors (e.g. polyp burden, ampullary adenoma and level of dysplasia, etc) which may influence management decisions.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic in our region and is the 9th most common cancer in Hong Kong. Traditionally diagnosis has been through a nasoendoscopic examination of the nasopharynx with white light followed by a biopsy of suspicious lesions for a confirmatory diagnosis. However, given the geometry of the anatomy of the nasopharynx, with its inherent crevices and varying amounts of lymphoid tissues, lesions are not always easily identified leading to potential missed lesions. The non-specific aspect of white light also leads to excessive biopsies that are not without risk and of some discomfort to patients. Recent advances in liquid biopsies have also allowed for the detection of earlier and smaller lesions that are not always easily identified on nasoendoscopy but rather are seen on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)1 . An alternative imaging technique is the use of Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) to view the vasculature of the mucosa to identify suspicious lesions for pre-malignancy and malignancy that has been popularized in the gastrointestinal tract. In NPC, NBI with the flexible nasoendoscopes has been used in the diagnosis of NPC with varying success2-5 . Our own group's research has found that in NPC NBI has limitations arising from a lack of consensus on vascular findings on NBI that constitute malignancy, lack of magnification and long focal length of current nasoendoscopes5-8 . Flexible endoscopy using conventional esophago-gastroscopy endoscope (OGD) with NBI and magnification power up to 80x overcome the limitations of current nasoendoscopes, however their size precludes the passing of these endoscopes through the nasal cavity. Here in this pilot study we will seek to use an OGD with NBI passed transorally and retroflexed into the nasopharynx to view the nasopharynx with increased magnification and clarity to evaluate the feasibility of this study in the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Study questions: Is it feasible to use an OGD with magnifying NBI for the diagnosis of NPC? Are there features detected on NBI OGD that are diagnostic of NPC? Do histological features correspond with NBI findings?

To prospectively assess post-radiation late dysphagia by using MDADI questionnaire (deglutition-related quality of life) and objective instrumental assessment by means of Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) and Videofluoroscopy (VFS) in patients affected by nasopharynx and oropharynx cancers candidates to radiochemotherapy. Radiotherapy is delivered by using Intensity and Modulated Technique (IMRT) with a planning dose optimization to the swallowing related structures (SWOARs-sparing IMRT). The primary aim is to assess the variations of MDADI, FEES and VFS from baseline to 6 and 12 months after treatment. The secondary aim is to correlate clinical and instrumental results as well as radiation dose received by the different swallowing related structures (SWOARs) to the variations of clinical (MDADI) and instrumental (FEES and VFS) scores.

Hypothesis: To estimate the proportion of locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer patients which show high somatostatin receptor density (SUVmax >10) on Ga-68 DOTATATE imaging. Galium-68 DOTATATE: PET imaging will be performed with a PET/CT scanner. Galium-68 DOTATATE will be injected intravenously. Scanning will be performed approximately 60 minutes after the injection. The standardized uptake value (SUV) will be used in the interpretation of the Ga-68 DOTATATE scans. The values gathered will be used as an estimate of the somatostatin receptor density. A patient will be considered to have an overall high somatostatin receptor density if the average SUVmax of all the representative lesions is more than 10.

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder that predisposes to a number or malignant disorders [1,2]. Clinically, FAP presents with an abnormal number of colorectal polyps (100-5000), while it genetically is defined by mutations in the APC-gene [1]. Historically, colorectal cancer has been the major cause of deaths for FAP patient. However, as the incidence of colorectal cancer has decreased with the use of prophylactic colectomy, the incidence of duodenal cancer has increased [3,4]. It is estimated that the cumulative lifetime risk of duodenal polyposis exceeds 95% [1,5]. The predictor of duodenal cancer is duodenal polyposis, which is almost inevitable in patients with FAP. In 1989 the Spigelman score was introduced in order to assess the severity of duodenal polyposis and stratify patients according to risk of duodenal cancer (Table 1) [6]. It is a composite score that includes two endoscopic parameters (number and maximum size of polyps, respectively) and two histopathological parameters (histological subtype and grade of dysplasia). The score ranges from 0-12 and it has been classified in four stages. The 10-year risk of developing duodenal cancer corresponds with the Spigelman stage ranging from ≈0 for stage 0-1 to 36% for stage 4 [7]. Besides duodenal cancer, the indications of cancer prophylactic surgical resection are debatable, but generally recommended in the case of Spigelman stage 4 or high-grade dysplasia. Table 1 Spigelman Classification for duodenal polyposis Criterion 1 point 2 points 3 points Polyp number 1-4 5-20 >20 Polyp size (mm) 1-4 5-10 >20 Histology Tubular Tubulovillous Villous Dysplasia Low grade* High grade* Stage 0: 0 points; stage I: 1-4 points; stage II: 5-6 points; stage III: 7-8 points; stage IV: 9-12 points. *Originally, 3 grades of dysplasia were incorporated. While the correlation to cancer has been explored in several studies, the validation and the reproducibility of the Spigelman score remains somewhat unclear. The primary aim of this study is to assess the inter- and intra-observer agreement of the Spigelman score for experienced endoscopists using state-of-the-art high-definition (HD) endoscopes. Hypothesis: The Spigelman score has perfect reproducibility for endoscopic experts (κ>0.80 with 95% CI.).

The overarching goal of this study is to develop PET/MR techniques for accurate assessment of treatment response during and immediately after chemoradiation therapy. The central hypothesis is that the GMR measured using a simultaneous PET/MR scanner can more accurately detect residual tumor than conventional SUV measures from PET alone. It is important to note that SUV depends on both tumor metabolic rate and tracer delivery, which makes the interpretation of SUV challenging. For instance, inflammatory tissue can have high SUV due to increased vascularity and vascular permeability and cannot be easily differentiated from tumor based on the SUV. Investigators hypothesize that inflammatory tissue will have lower GMR than residual tumor that contain highly proliferating cells with increased expression of glucose transporters (GLUT). Measuring GMR accurately will improve the specificity of PET while maintaining the high sensitivity of PET for detection of residual tumor. In order to test our hypothesis, investigators propose to conduct dynamic PET and MRI scans with NPC patients who are undergoing a conventional two-stage chemoradiation therapy at our institution; the first stage for 7-week chemoradiation therapy followed by the second stage for 3-month chemotherapy. A combination of PET/CT and nasopharynx MRI is currently obtained before the initiation of treatment and 3 months after completion of treatment to assess treatment response. This study proposes to introduce PET/MR scans at the time of these exams (scan #1 for pre-treatment & scan #4 for 3 months after completion) and to add two additional PET/MR scans in between them; one immediately after the first stage of treatment (scan #2) and another one immediately after the second stage (scan #3). A primary clinical endpoint of this study is the treatment response assessed at 3 months after completion of treatment. A secondary endpoint is 6 month follow-up exam. Complete responder will be determined based on clinical and imaging assessment of residual tumor size at each endpoint. It is hoped that preliminary data obtained from this study will be useful in planning larger studies to formally investigate the utility of GMR for detection of residual tumor and prediction of treatment response.

Significant evidence has shown that radiation therapy for patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) can cause swallowing abnormality. Based on our prior cross-sectional study for 184 NPC patients from 1995 to 1999, the findings of videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) revealed continuous deterioration of swallowing function of these patients even many years after radiation. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the longitudinal change of swallowing function based on VFSS before, one month, one year and two years after completing radiation therapy. The amount of saliva was measured at the same time of VFSS study to test the relationship of decreased amount of saliva and swallowing function. Comparison of serial VFSS studies in NPC patients (n=84) and normal volunteers (n=38) were obtained. We assume that this study may reveal a complete understanding of changing swallowing patterns in the course of radiation therapy of patients with NPC. From this study, NPC patients can understand their own swallowing function. Therefore, the information may enable for earlier intervention of swallowing training or correction to avoid morbidity of radiation therapy in this patient group.

The purpose of this registry is to collect information about patients in which a pouch has been created to improve in the future the quality of the surgery of the pouch.

18F-FDG PET, a whole-body imaging technology based on glucose metabolism, can effectively detect subclinical and clinical therapeutic responses at stages that are earlier than those detected by conventional approaches. We propose to conduct a prospective study to evaluate therapeutic response using 18F-FDG PET before and after induction chemotherapy for locally advanced NPC patients.