Active clinical trials for "Head and Neck Neoplasms"

The goal of this trial is to test the ability of MK-3475 (pembrolizumab) to improve locoregional recurrence and distant metastatic rates in high-risk patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) that are treated with current standard of care surgical approaches.

Head and Neck cancers are treated either with surgical resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy, or with organ preservation strategies using definitive radiotherapy with or without concomitant chemotherapy. These treatments have long-time functional side effects and consequences on the quality of life. Transoral robotic surgery has been developing since 2006 by Weinstein and O'Malley in alternative to open surgery, to decrease the morbidity of the large surgical approach. The da Vinci device had the FDA approval and the CE mark in 2009 for transoral surgery of head and neck cancers, using previous generations of da Vinci. The last generation da Vinci Xi has received the FDA approval for laparoscopic surgery in april 2014 and the CE mark in june 2014 but has not been evaluated yet in transoral surgery. The objective of our study is therefore to study the feasibility of this transoral robotic surgery for head and neck cancers, using the da Vinci Xi.

The purpose of this research study is to learn about the effectiveness of using lower-intensity radiation and chemotherapy to treat human papillomavirus (HPV) associated low-risk oropharyngeal and/or unknown primary squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. The cure rate for this type of cancer is estimated to be high, > 90%. The standard treatment for this cancer is 7 weeks of radiation with 3 high doses of cisplatin. Sometimes surgery is performed afterwards. This standard regimen causes a lot of side effects and long term complications. This study is evaluating whether a lower dose of radiation and chemotherapy may provide a similar cure rate as the longer, more intensive standard regimen. Patients in this study will receive 1 less week of radiation and a lower weekly dose of chemotherapy.

This project aims to study an innovative intervention, the eG2 Intervention, developed by speech-language pathologists at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal to improve therapeutic adherence and prevent dysphagia in patients treated with chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer. The innovation consists in offering a speech therapy intervention that is 1) virtual, 2) group-based (whereas it is usually individual) and 3) involves a patient partner. This intervention has the potential to improve quality of care, accessibility to services and optimize health care resources.

CCR2 is a significant prognostic biomarker in head and neck cancer. Currently there is no clinical biomarker to study CCR2, its prognostic significance or to select patients for CCR2-targeted therapy and to monitor response to such therapy. The investigators have developed a CCR2 specific PET radiotracer based on the peptide, ECL1i (d(LGTFLKC)) and radiolabeled with 64Cu (64Cu-DOTA-ECL1i). The investigators have found that 64Cu-DOTA-ELC1i specific binding has been demonstrated in human head and neck cancer tissue.

We are proposing a randomized phase II study to assess the benefit of bilateral robot-assisted or laser basal tongue mucosectomy in combination with tonsillectomy in the assessment of prevalent cervical lymphadenopathy

This is a proof-of-concept trial to compare 18F-FDG-PET/CT with NETSPOT (68Ga-DOTA-TATE), a commercially available radiotracer packet that utilizes 68Ga to image SSTR-specific tissue.

The study includes patients with tumors of the oropharynx, larynx and hypopharynx scheduled to receive radiotherapy with curative intent (+/- chemotherapy). The patients will be randomized into either an intervention group (performing a preventive physical activity protocol before and during radiotherapy) or a control group not performing a specified physical exercise protocol. All patients will be in contact with with a speech language pathologist or a physical therapist weekly during radiotherapy. The study is expected to improve physical function and quality of life during and after oncologic treatment

Hypoxia occurs in about 80% of head and neck tumors. Based on experimental and clinical data, hypoxia is a useful parameter for pretherapeutic stratification. These radioresistant regions can be detected with FMISO PET/CT. Moreover, hypoxic subvolumes of tumors can be evolving as target volumes for radiotherapy ("dose painting") in hypoxia imaging-based dose escalation.

Bioelectrical impedance analysis measures body mass (the amount of muscle and fat in the body) and the level of hydration to help researchers identify patients who are losing muscle mass during radiation therapy. This information may help researchers make decisions about nutritional supplementation and the placement of feeding tubes in patients receiving radiation therapy.