View clinical trials related to Head and Neck Cancer.
Filter by:Despite uniform histopathological definition the response of locally advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC) to ionizing radiation differs greatly with locoregional recurrences burdening this patient population. The addition of concurrent chemotherapy and the use of altered fractionation schedules has significantly increased locoregional control and overall survival over the last decade however, this has come at the cost of increased acute and late toxicity, preventing further treatment intensification in all patients. If the investigators want to increase the therapeutic index of HNSCC, we need to be able to tailor the treatment more individually to each patient. The project aims at developing a prognostic model for head and neck cancer patients based on the combination of known clinical parameters with 1) genetic characteristics of the tumor and 2) parameters derived from diffusion weighted and dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained before and during treatment. The investigators plan a prospective trial where 120 patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer treated with chemoradiotherapy will be included. Prior to treatment biopsy material will be collected for genetic analysis and before and during treatment functional MRI with diffusion weighted and dynamic contrast enhanced imaging will be performed. All patients will be followed up multidisciplinary afterwards with follow-up of tumor status and toxicity.
Chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) is currently the cornerstone in the management of locoregional advanced head and neck cancer (HNC). Optimization of the quality of RT is therefore an important issue, if the investigators want to improve the therapeutic index in HNC. This could be achieved by a more accurate definition of the tumor volume and by identification of radioresistant volumes within the tumor. Recent literature puts in this regard the incorporation of functional imaging (FI) in the RT treatment planning forward as a promising tool. FI modalities provide an outstanding contrast between tumor and surrounding tissues. This is in contrast to anatomical imaging. Using anatomical imaging in RT treatment planning, sufficient margins need to be placed around the tumor volume in order to compensate for geometric uncertainties. Consequently many surrounding functional structures receive high doses of irradiation, resulting in side effects. It is expected that, using FI in RT treatment planning will make these margins smaller or even unnecessary, which will result in less irradiation of the surrounding tissues. So far only one study has reported a comparison between tumor volume on anatomical (CT and MRI) and FI (PET-CT) modalities with pathological tumor volume. This study showed indeed that the tumor volumes delineated on PET-CT correlated more to tumor volumes defined by pathology and were significantly smaller. Furthermore, FI provides us with a deeper insight in the tumor's underlying biological activity and microstructure. These techniques can thus help to identify radioresistant subvolumes which might benefit from treatment intensification. A validation of these FI modalities with pathology is necessary to investigate their true power in tumor delineation and in the identification of radioresistant subvolumes.
The overall goal of this study is to investigate the safety of T4 immunotherapy when administered to treat loco-regional disease in Squamous Cell Cancer of the Head and Neck (SCCHN) that is not suitable for conventional active therapy. The investigators propose to conduct an open-labelled, non-randomized, dose-escalation phase I trial in which autologous T4+ T-cells are administered to patients with SCCHN. T-cells will be engineered to express a second generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) named T1E28z. Engineered T-cells will be injected directly into the tumour site. Patients will not be lymphodepleted. A classical 3+3 design will be employed, with dose escalation from 10^7 through to 10^9 transduced T4+ T-cells, dependent upon toxicity monitoring. It is anticipated that up to 30 patients will be enrolled over the course of the study.
Head and neck tumors are common in the general population especially in high risk groups of smokers and alcohol abusers, as well as after exposure to various environmental factors. Diagnosis is based on identification of patients gross disease after a physical examination and various imaging methods, and characterization of tissue mainly by fine-needle puncture (FNA) and biopsy. Determining the stage of disease is based on physical examination, imaging and tissue samples. Using the electronic nose technology we hope to identify microscopic disease when it is suspected or in populations in risk, thus diagnose patients in the initial stages of the disease. Obviously, early diagnosis and treatment decisions will hopefully improve the prognosis. Finding a positive correlation between the stages, levels and various tumor volume and respiratory specimens findings will classify patients more accurately and contribute to further characterization of the disease in a more accurate, rapid and non-invasive fashion.
A randomized clinical trial was initiated to investigate whether a reduction of the dose to the elective nodal sites and the swallowing apparatus delivered by IMRT would result in a reduction of acute and late side effects without compromising tumor control.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of MgSO4 administration on the pharmacodynamics of rocuronium in patients with 60 or more years of age.
Whether low-dose radiation in addition to Taxotere and Erbitux improves the response rate of patients with recurrent unresectable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether a brief couple-based supportive intervention effectively assists patients and their partners coping with the challenges of head and neck cancer.
The investigators' goal is to incorporate advanced imaging information into the treatment planning process and assess response in tumor, nodes and non-cancerous tissues in head and neck cancer patients during and after concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (chemoRT) via biophysical, biochemical and vascular imaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The investigators will recruit 30 patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer into the study. All patients will obtain an advanced MRI study at three time points: 1) before the start of chemoRT, 2) 4 weeks following the start of chemoRT, and 3) 3-4 months following completion of chemoRT. MRI scans will include a) T1, T2 and T2* imaging, b) vascular images using dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) imaging, c) biophysical microstructure images using diffusion-weighted imaging, and d) biochemical images using MR spectroscopic imaging. The subject's response (tumor, nodes and salivary and mucosal tissues) will be evaluated using clinical outcomes. Correlations will be generated between the parameters obtained from MR images and from clinical response assessments. The purpose of this study is to assess whether advanced MR imaging techniques can be used to determine tumor and node response (i) four weeks following initiation of concurrent chemoRT and (ii) after completion of chemoRT in head and neck cancer, and to assess whether advanced MR imaging techniques can be used to predict early at-risk organ function (salivary gland and mucosal injury) as measured by salivary flow and oral mucositis to chemoradiation therapy (i) four weeks following initiation of concurrent chemoRT and (ii) after completion of chemoRT in head and neck cancer.
The purpose of this study is to determine if the full dose of eribulin mesylate can be safely given with the full dose of cetuximab. The activity of the combination of eribulin mesylate and cetuximab on recurrent head and neck cancer and colon cancer will also be assessed.