View clinical trials related to Head and Neck Cancer.
Filter by:Endoscopy is a standard part of the evaluation of patients with head and neck cancer used for determining the extent of tumor involvement. However, not all areas involved by tumor are apparent visually. Preliminary results indicate that compared with normal tissues, tumors have abnormal levels of capillary oxygenation. The purpose of this study is to determine the ability of non-pulsatile visible light tissue oxygen monitoring to differentiate normal and tumor tissue based on capillary oxygenation during endoscopy Should this be possible, this method could be used to mark tumor extent and invasion, even when that invasion is up to 5mm blow the tissue surface.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin and paclitaxel, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Giving combination chemotherapy together with radiation therapy before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed. Giving these treatments after surgery may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving cisplatin and paclitaxel together with radiation therapy and surgery works in treating patients with advanced cancer of the oral cavity, oropharynx, or hypopharynx that can be removed by surgery.
Primary Objectives: 1. To assess the ratio in sensitivities of OraTest® in combination with visual examination versus visual examination alone in the detection of serious pathology defined as severe dysplasia, CIS, or cancer of the O/OP cavity in patients who are at high risk for squamous cell carcinoma, carcinoma in situ, or severe dysplasia of the oral/oropharyngeal (O/OP) cavity due to their age and lifestyle risk factors. 2. To estimate the adjusted specificity of OraTest® in combination with visual examination in the detection of severe dysplasia, CIS, or cancer of the O/OP cavity. Secondary Objectives: 1. To assess the ratio of sensitivity of OraTest® in combination with visual examination versus visual examination alone in the detection of certain chromosomal abnormalities (17p chromosomal deletions, or both 3p and 9p chromosomal deletions), severe dysplasia, CIS, or cancer of the O/OP cavity in patients who are at high risk for squamous cell carcinoma, carcinoma in situ, or severe dysplasia of the oral/oropharyngeal (O/OP) cavity due to their age and lifestyle risk factors. 2. To obtain the adjusted specificity of OraTest® in combination with visual examination in the detection of certain chromosomal abnormalities (17p chromosomal deletions, or both 3p and 9p chromosomal deletions), severe dysplasia, CIS or cancer of the O/OP cavity. 3. To evaluate the chromosomal status of the positively staining lesions with respect to 3p, 9p, or 17p deletions. 4. To carry out gene expression studies on biopsies and map these onto an analysis of the widespread chromosomal imbalances in stain-positive and stain-negative lesions. 5. To evaluate the quantitative and qualitative toxicities, as well as other safety parameters, of tolonium chloride 5 mg/mL (OraTest®).
RATIONALE: Photodynamic therapy uses a drug that becomes active when it is exposed to a certain kind of light. When the drug is active, tumor cells are killed. Photodynamic therapy using porfimer sodium may be effective against mouth or throat dysplasia and cancer of the mouth and throat. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying how well photodynamic therapy using porfimer sodium works in treating patients with recurrent mouth or throat dysplasia, recurrent in situ cancer of the mouth or throat, or stage I cancer of the mouth or throat.
Primary Objectives: 1. To examine the effect of celecoxib treatment on histological response, markers of proliferation (Ki-67), and apoptosis. Secondary endpoints include time to second primary or recurrence and survival. 2. To examine the toxicity associated with celecoxib administration in patients with previously treated Head and Neck Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC)or Non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC).
RATIONALE: Drugs such as valproic acid may make thyroid cancers more radioiodine sensitive, which will allow for detection of tumor and make further ablation treatment effective.
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. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Amifostine may decrease the side effects caused by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It is not yet known whether chemotherapy and radiation therapy are more effective with or without amifostine in treating head and neck cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying amifostine to see how well it works compared with standard care in reducing side effects in patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy for stage III or stage IV head and neck cancer.
Objectives: 1. To assess the tolerability of performing optical coherence tomography and/or optical spectroscopy in patients with acute oral mucositis. 2. To determine the feasibility of obtaining optical coherence tomography images and/or fluorescence excitation emission matrices from normal and affected sites in patients with acute oral mucositis. 3. To compare optical data obtained with optical coherence tomography and/or spectroscopy with the clinical appearance and scoring of oral mucositis lesions.
RATIONALE: Specialized radiation therapy that delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor may kill more tumor cells and cause less damage to normal tissue. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well internal radiation therapy works in treating patients with liver metastases from neuroendocrine tumors.
The purpose of this study is to determine if combination Erlotinib, Cisplatin/Carboplatin, and Paclitaxel are effective first line treatment for metastatic, recurrent and persistent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.