View clinical trials related to Cancer of the Head and Neck.
Filter by:Fluorescent technology continues to advance in the detection of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). Currently, this requires switching from near-infrared light to white light to be able to identify the fluorescent tissue contrasting with normal surrounding tissue. Currently, no system has been studied specifically for head and neck sentinel lymph node biopsies using a hands free goggle system that can visualize white light (normal surgical visualization) and nearinfrared light (ICG fluorescence) simultaneously. This technology may have implications on the safety and accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy for head and neck mucosal and cutaneous tumors. Secondarily, this may reduce operative costs by decreasing the amount of time required to perform the SLNB procedure. Regarding parathyroid identification, this technology has the potential to identify these very small glands during procedures they are at risk. These glands are not only at risk of inadvertent removal if not adequately identified, but may also be at risk if devascularized by manipulation during the surgical procedure. Therefore, early and accurate identification may decrease the rate of temporary and permanent hypoparathyroidism and hypocalcemia. This is not only an issue during thyroid and parathyroid surgery, but during laryngectomy surgery where the anatomic region these glands are located are often resected to remove at risk lymph nodes from cancer spread. Therefore, identifying these glands may help preserve parathyroid function in this patient population as well.
To evaluate the objective response rate of oxaliplatin combined with 5-FU in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer and to assess the safety profile of these treatment regimen.
The combination of oxaliplatin and gemcitabine is highly active in a wide variety of tumors including pancreatic, germ cell, breast, biliary, mesothelioma (Mitchell et al, 2002), and lung. In the last study which utilized days 1 and 8 gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 and days 1 and 8 oxaliplatin 65 mg/m2 in poor prognosis lung cancer patients (PS 1-3) the response rate was 16% with no incidence of febrile neutropenia. Toxicity is a crucial consideration when designing regimens intended for palliation. Toxicities associated with cisplatin can make it difficult to use in patients with Head and Neck Cancer (HNC), many of whom are elderly and have comorbidities. In addition, many patients with metastatic HNC have previously received cisplatin during neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy, or as part of their primary chemoradiation treatment. When these patients recur, it is possible their tumors have innate or acquired cisplatin resistance. Oxaliplatin is likely to be better tolerated than cisplatin containing regimens, especially with regards to neurotoxicity. Gemcitabine has shown promising activity as a single agent and in combination chemotherapy in the first line treatment of patients with HNC. A combination chemotherapy regimen using oxaliplatin and gemcitabine administered once every week is logical and worth exploring in patients with metastatic and recurrent head and neck cancer to improve the toxicity profile and patient monitoring while maintaining efficacy of the chemotherapy regimen.