Active clinical trials for "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

The phase I trial aims to determine the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) and schedule of olaparib in combination with standard cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy, in patients with high-risk locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC), by assessing the safety and tolerability of the treatment combination.

Multicenter randomized controlled phase III study of nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab as immunotherapy vs standard follow-up in surgical resectable HNSCC after adjuvant therapy

Head & neck (H&N) cancer is the eighth most common cancer in the UK. Advanced H&N cancer which has come back after treatment or has spread to other parts of the body is incurable and the average life expectancy of these patients is less than a year. New drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors work with the patient's own immune system to fight cancer. They are used in the clinic to treat a number of cancers, including H&N cancer. It may be possible to make immune checkpoint inhibitors more effective by combining drugs that work in different ways. In effect, attacking the cancer from different angles. Cetuximab is a well-established drug that works by blocking signals that tell cancer cells to grow and divide into more cells. It also engages with the immune system within the tumour. The trial aims to see if giving cetuximab along with an immune checkpoint inhibitor drug called avelumab is better at treating advanced H&N cancer than giving avelumab on its own. These two drugs have not been given together before, so to start with, the investigator plans to enrol a small number of patients and give the patients avelumab + cetuximab to make sure the combination is safe at the doses chosen. After this, the investigator plans to enrol 114 patients with advanced H&N cancer. Half the patients will be treated with avelumab alone and the other half with avelumab + cetuximab. Both drugs are given intravenously in the hospital once every 2 weeks. Treatment lasts for up to a year and patients will be followed up for up to 2 years from the time they enter the study. Patients will be recruited from around 15 hospitals in the UK. Recruitment would be expected to start in the second quarter of 2018 and it will take about 29 months (Safety run-in: 5 months; Phase II: 24 months) to recruit all the patients.

RATIONALE: Cancers of the oral cavity represent 30% of head and neck carcinomas in the western world. The oropharynx is the posterior continuation of the oral cavity and connects with the nasopharynx (above) and laryngopharynx (below). It is also a frequent site of primary head and neck cancers. These structures play a crucial role in swallowing, breath and speech. Locally advanced oropharyngeal cancers can obstruct the air flow or infiltrate muscles or nerves, which significantly disturb local functions. The incidence of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer in patients older 65 years is high, 47% occurred in this population as recorded by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registries in the United States. Regarding the therapeutic strategies, the association of radiotherapy with chemotherapy or biologics has demonstrated significant improvement of outcomes with the drawback of higher toxicity, or as demonstrated by 2 meta-analyses, without survival improvement in older patients. NBTXR3 and radiation therapy may increase the cancer cell killing and complete tumor shrinkage allowing a definitive treatment and preservation of local structures and functions in patients older 65 years, who cannot receive cisplatin.

The standard treatment of surgery followed by radiation therapy can stop tumors from growing in the head and neck region in most patients. However, the cancer can recur or can spread to other parts of the body. Cetuximab is a drug that may delay or prevent tumor growth by blocking certain cellular chemical pathways that lead to tumor development. It was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006 for the treatment of head and neck cancer. The purpose of this study is to determine how easily cetuximab can be added to treatment with radiation therapy in patients with cutaneous cancer of the head and neck. This study will also look at how well cetuximab added to radiation therapy works over time and how well this treatment is tolerated.

The purpose of this study is to see if a three method risk adapted design using induction chemotherapy, transoral surgery and radiation chemotherapy will lessen toxic effects and make treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) better.

This research study is studying nivolumab, an investigational drug, in combination with ipilimumab, also an investigational drug, as a possible treatment for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the oral cavity. The following drugs are involved in this study: Nivolumab (Opdivo™) Ipilimumab (Yervoy™)

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving combination chemotherapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs such as gemcitabine and cisplatin may make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Giving combination chemotherapy before surgery or radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving chemotherapy followed by surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy works in treating patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

This phase I trial studies the side effects and the best dose of veliparib when given together with paclitaxel and carboplatin in treating patients with solid tumors that are metastatic or cannot be removed by surgery and liver or kidney dysfunction. Veliparib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving veliparib together with paclitaxel and carboplatin may kill more tumor cells.

Veterans following treatment of head and neck cancer can be left with lasting swallowing impairment that may require diet alterations, need for feeding tubes, and risk of pneumonia. The investigators' previous trial tested a new swallowing treatment approach to target respiratory-swallow coordination. The results revealed improvements in respiratory-swallow coordination and swallowing function. The goal of this study is to determine the impact and durability of respiratory-swallow training (RST) on clinical outcomes necessary for eating, drinking, health, and quality-of-life in Veterans with swallowing impairment following treatment for head and neck cancer. A total of 50 participants will be recruited and randomly assigned to the RST or standard of care.