View clinical trials related to Head and Neck Neoplasms.
Filter by:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a diagnostic study that makes pictures of organs of the body using magnetic field and radio frequency pulses that can not be felt. Dynamic contrast enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) uses faster imaging and contrast material (a substance used to make specific organs, blood vessels, or tumors easier to see) that is given by vein. Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) allows to measure the motion of water around the cells in the tumor. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) obtains chemical information from the tumor. During MRS, signals are detected from the chemicals (spectroscopy) naturally present in your tumor using radio waves. DCE-MRI, DW-MRI and MRS give extra information which is not available with the regular MRI. The regular MRI only shows pictures of the tumor while the DCE-MRI also gives information about the blood vessels of the tumor. DW-MRI provides information related to the state of the tumor tissue with regards to the quality or condition of cells present in it and MRS gives information about the chemical makeup of the tumor. The purpose of this study is to see whether DCE-MRI, DW-MRI and MRS done before treatment can predict which patients will do well with either surgery or chemo-radiation therapy. This study will also see if DCE-MRI, DW-MRI and MRS done early in treatment can tell if the therapy is working.
The purpose of this study is to test whether the use of advanced radiation therapy delivery techniques can spare a patient's normal tissue, including salivary glands, from radiation. This study is being done to try to reduce radiation side effects, especially mouth dryness, which happens with standard radiation methods. In order to reduce these side effects, other normal tissues may receive a different radiation dose (sometimes more) than what would have been received using standard radiation therapy. A secondary goal of this study is to determine if the type of tumor a patient has can be controlled at least as well (or better) using this advanced radiation therapy delivery technique as it would be if the patient was treated with standard radiation therapy.
This is a protocol to collect tissues, blood, and other specimens from patients with malignant or nonmalignant diseases of the head and neck. Collected specimens will be used in laboratory studies to investigate the growth, development, and transformation of normal and abnormal cells in the future.
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.
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: Nebulized dornase alfa inhalation solution may decrease the thickness of saliva in the mouth and improve quality of life in patients undergoing radiation therapy and chemotherapy for head and neck cancer. It is not yet known whether dornase alfa inhalation solution is more effective than a placebo in lessening the discomfort of treatment in these patients. PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying how well dornase alfa inhalation solution works compared with a placebo in treating patients with stage III or stage IV head and neck cancer undergoing radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Primary Objectives: - Develop and pilot test an innovative intervention to determine its feasibility and acceptability to patients. Recruitment rate, patient satisfaction, attendance, questionnaire completion rates and the reliability and validity of the questionnaires will be assessed. - Conduct preliminary analyses on the efficacy of the intervention in improving patients' depression. Evaluate whether depression levels in patients receiving the intervention decreases, and whether the decrease is greater among those who complete more sessions. - Test the relationship between patients' depression levels and adherence to swallowing rehabilitation and to dental preventive maintenance regimens.
A study for head and neck cancer patients to evaluate the feasibility of combining salivary gland transfer surgical procedure and IMRT helical tomotherapy to reduce dryness of mouth.
We propose to combine lapatinib with RT alone in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who cannot tolerate chemotherapy. The main objective of the study is to determine the efficacy of combining concurrent radiation and lapatinib in terms of time-to-progression (TTP) in this group of patients. In addition, we will determine the 2-year locoregional control rate (LRC), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in these patients. We will also evaluate the profile and frequency of late toxicity, specifically mucosal and dermatologic toxicity, of the combination of lapatinib and RT in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
RATIONALE: Nelfinavir may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying the side effects and best dose of nelfinavir in treating patients with metastatic, refractory, or recurrent solid tumors.