View clinical trials related to Head and Neck Neoplasms.
Filter by:The primary objective of this study is to explore the efficacy of BIBW 2992 compared with cetuximab (Erbitux) in patients with metastatic or recurrent head and neck cancer after failure of platinum-containing therapy. In addition, the trial aims to clarify the influence of EGFR genotype on tumor response to the treatment regimens.
This phase II trial is studying the how well saracatinib works in treating patients with metastatic or recurrent head and neck cancer. Saracatinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth
This study is being done to test whether panitumumab, in combination with chemotherapy and radiation is safe in people with head and neck cancer. Another goal of this study is to find the highest dose of the study drugs that can be given safely without causing serious sife effects. Panitumumab is a type of drug called a monoclonal antibody that has been studied in other types of cancers, such as kidney and colon. This monoclonal antibody is directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). EGFR has been found on the majority of head and neck cancer cells. By blocking EGFR, this monoclonal antibody may inhibit the growth of head and neck cancer cells.
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as gemcitabine and doxorubicin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving more than one drug (combination chemotherapy) may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving gemcitabine together with doxorubicin works in treating patients with recurrent or progressive head and neck cancer.
Primary Objectives: 1. To determine whether high-risk sexual behaviors are more common in patients with oropharyngeal cancer than in patients with head and neck cancers of other sub-sites. 2. To determine if high-risk sexual behaviors are more common in patients with HPV (human papillomavirus) associated head and neck cancer than those without evidence of HPV-16 infection.
Primary Objective: - To determine the maximum tolerated doses (MTDs) of pemetrexed when given with dexamethasone. (Please note: One of the three treatment groups will not receive dexamethasone) Secondary Objectives: - To assess dose limiting toxicity (DLT), which is defined as grade 4 neutropenia > 7 days duration, neutropenic fever, grade 4 thrombocytopenia, or any grade 3 or 4 non-hematologic toxicity excluding nausea/vomiting and excluding grade 3 transaminase toxicity. - To determine objective response rate, as defined as complete response (CR) or partial response (PR), confirmed by 2 CT scans at least 6 weeks apart in patients treated with pemetrexed as a single agent with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
This phase II trial studies how well dasatinib works in treating patients with head and neck cancer that has come back or spread to other areas of the body. Dasatinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.
This trial is a single-institution, randomized study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Dynasplint Trismus System (DTS) for patients with trismus. Improvement of mouth opening and quality of life of participants using DTS will be compared to improvement of mouth opening and quality of life of participants using standard therapy. Standard therapy will be the use of tongue depressors. Crossover from standard therapy to DTS will be implemented if at three months there is no improvement in mouth opening when using tongue depressors.
This project defines the effect on swallowing of intensity modulation during radiotherapy in an organ preservation treatment involving chemoradiation for 125 oral, laryngeal, and pharyngeal cancer patients with previously untreated Stage III or IV disease and to identify optimum treatment strategies. The specific aims are: 1) define the physiologic effects of chemoradiotherapy with IMRT to various sites in the upper aerodigestive/vocal tract including the cervical esophagus and the rate at which patients return to oral intake; 2) document the acute toxicities, late complications, locoregional failure and survival, and the relationship between fibrosis rating and the measure of laryngeal elevation; 3) determine whether the patient's swallowing mechanism can compensate for physiologic deficits in swallowing by introduction of interventions (postural changes, voluntary swallow maneuvers, several bolus volumes); 4) determine whether time to return to oral intake, effects of swallow maneuvers and/or volume, presence of an esophageal stricture and the duration of success of dilatation depends on radiation dose volume to specific structures in the head and neck; 5) define the relationship of tongue base pressure to development of esophageal stricture. Patients will be accrued from Northwestern University and University of Chicago. Effects are defined in terms of swallowing function, morbidity, toxicity and survival. Other outcome measures are the maintenance of voluntary control (flexibility) of the oropharyngeal region as indicated by the ability to correctly produce swallow maneuvers; and positive changes in cricopharyngeal opening duration with normal bolus volume shifts. Patients will be studied pretreatment, and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months post completion of chemoradiation. At each assessment, patients will receive a videofluoroscopic assessment of swallowing utilizing a standard protocol, assessment of xerostomia, mucositis, and fibrosis as well as assessment of disease status and quality of life scales. Head and neck cancer is a severe problem that affects public health. Most current treatments are a combination of radiotherapy with chemotherapy, which can result in severe swallowing problems which may make patients unwilling to accept this type of treatment. This project attempts to quantify the swallow problems associated with this specific treatment and the effects of interventions for these swallow problems.
RATIONALE: Pemetrexed may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as oxaliplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Giving pemetrexed together with oxaliplatin may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well giving pemetrexed together with oxaliplatin works in treating patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.