View clinical trials related to Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.
Filter by:EGFR and COX-2 are involved in tumorigenesis, angiogenesis and metastases and are frequently over expressed in NPC.COX-2 and EGFR inhibitors are active in NPC.There is synergistic action between COX-2 and EGFR inhibitors. Study hypothesis: Celecoxib and gefitinib can reduce angiogenesis and induce anti-tumorigenicity in patients with nasopharngeal cancer.
Investigate the effect of induction MEPFL chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) on the disease control and survival in treatment of patients with advanced NPC.
The standard treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer involves either radiation alone or radiation plus chemotherapy. Before the start of treatment,patients require an imaging scan to assess the extent of disease. The most commonly used test is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The goal of the study is to examine the value of a new imaging technology that has recently become available at the University Health Network Hospitals called Positron Emission Tomography scanning (PET). PET scanning involves the injecting a small amount of a drug through a vein in the arm called 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG). This drug is special in that it is radioactive and will be detected by the PET machine. Cancer cells are believed to be more active than normal cells and have a high rate of metabolism. Therefore, cancer cells are thought to take up glucose (a kind of sugar) faster than normal cells in the body. Because 18FDG is a modified type of glucose, it is also taken up by cancer cells. Special imaging cameras will be able to visualize the areas of uptake and reveal sites of cancer involvement. The main goal of this study is to evaluate whteher the scan is able to detect the presence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) both before and after treatment and to specifically compare it to findings on magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRI). In addition to doing the PET scans, we are asking patients to have blood samples drawn throughout their treatment and follow-up, for a research test called Epstein Barr virus (EBV) DNA levels. The Epstein Barr virus is thought to have a role in the development of nasopharyngeal cancer, and many patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma are found to have high levels of EBV DNA levels in their blood. The second goal of this study is to evaluate whether changes in EBV DNA levels are associated with the treatment and the disease course in nasopharyngeal cancer, and whether they help to predict any changes in the cancer. This part of the study involves the sampling of a small amount of venous blood at a time prior to the beginning of therapy and at regular intervals following treatment.
Significant evidence has shown that radiation therapy for patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) can cause swallowing abnormality. Based on our prior cross-sectional study for 184 NPC patients from 1995 to 1999, the findings of videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) revealed continuous deterioration of swallowing function of these patients even many years after radiation. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the longitudinal change of swallowing function based on VFSS before, one month, one year and two years after completing radiation therapy. The amount of saliva was measured at the same time of VFSS study to test the relationship of decreased amount of saliva and swallowing function. Comparison of serial VFSS studies in NPC patients (n=84) and normal volunteers (n=38) were obtained. We assume that this study may reveal a complete understanding of changing swallowing patterns in the course of radiation therapy of patients with NPC. From this study, NPC patients can understand their own swallowing function. Therefore, the information may enable for earlier intervention of swallowing training or correction to avoid morbidity of radiation therapy in this patient group.