View clinical trials related to Head and Neck Neoplasms.
Filter by:The purpose of the Phase I part of this research study is to determine the safest and most effective dose of Abraxane when given in combination with carboplatin and Erbitux during radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The purpose of the Phase II part of this study is to determine the effects of the treatment on head and neck cancers, as well as to further study the safety of this treatment.
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.
Patient receiving oxaliplatin and docetaxel will have longer progression free survival than those patients receiving standard care.
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.
This trials examines the feasibility of GRID-therapy combined with biologically imaging based IMRT (BG-IMRT). Within this trial, the strict toxicity parameters of primary treatment of head and neck tumors are used. The GRID and BG-IMRT technique might be possible to reduce the total radiation dose 2 to 3 times.
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.
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.