View clinical trials related to Head and Neck Cancer.
Filter by: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. Drugs, such as pemetrexed and erlotinib, may make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Erlotinib and pemetrexed may also stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Giving intensity-modulated radiation therapy together with pemetrexed and erlotinib may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase I/II trial is studying the side effects and best dose of erlotinib when given together with intensity-modulated radiation therapy and pemetrexed and to see how well they work in treating patients with recurrent or second primary head and neck cancer.
RATIONALE: Surgery may be an effective treatment for oral cancer. It is not yet known whether surgery to remove the tumor and lymph nodes in the neck is more effective than surgery to remove the tumor alone in treating patients with early-stage oral cancer. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is comparing two types of neck surgery to see how well they work in treating patients with early stage oral cancer.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether erlotinib will be effective in controlling cancer that has returned after treatment with salvage surgery and radiation. This study will also determine what effects, good and/or bad, this drug has on the participants.
The purpose of this study is to identify and confirm new blood and tissue markers for prognosis and tumor hypoxia. Tumor hypoxia, or the condition of low oxygen in the tumor, has been shown to increase the risk of tumor spread and enhance tumor resistance to the standard treatment of radiation and chemotherapy in head and neck and lung cancers. We have recently identified several proteins or markers in the blood and in tumors (including osteopontin, lysyl oxidase, macrophage inhibiting factor and proteomic technology) in the laboratory that may be able to identify tumors with low oxygen levels or more aggressive behaving tumors.
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.
RATIONALE: Giving a nutritional supplement containing arginine, omega-3 fatty acids, and nucleotides to patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy may stimulate the immune system and help the body build a stronger immune response. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well an arginine/omega-3 fatty acids/nucleotides nutritional supplement works in treating patients with stage III or stage IV head and neck cancer undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
The purpose of this study is to estimate, with pre-specified precision, the difference in local-regional control (LRC) rate at 2 years in subjects receiving chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or panitumumab plus radiotherapy (PRT) as first line treatment for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma for the head and neck (SCCHN). A formal hypothesis will not be tested in this trial; however, the treatment arm difference in LRC rates at 2 years will be estimated.
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.
RATIONALE: Developing a questionnaire that can be used to assess the quality of life among people who have a family member with cancer may help the study of cancer in the future. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying quality of life among families with a member who is a cancer patient.