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Head and Neck CancerEarly Phase 1NCT01111942

A Pilot Study of Induction Chemotherapy Followed by Surgery for Locally Advanced Resectable Head and Neck Cancer

A Early Phase 1 study testing radiation combined with weekly carboplatin and conservation surgery in people with Head and Neck Cancer, run by Southern Illinois University at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

This is a non-randomized open-label investigator initiated pilot study comparing follow-up therapy of advanced head and neck cancer subjects initially treated with triple induction chemotherapy. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Head and Neck Cancer
What is being tested?
radiation combined with weekly carboplatin and conservation surgery
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
4 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Feb 2010to Jan 2014
Phase
Early Phase 1
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.
  • Histologically confirmed Stage III-IV (T1, T2, T3) (N0-N2) squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx staged according to AJCC guidelines.
  • The subject must be considered surgically resectable via a transoral approach at the time of presentation.
  • Age >18 years
  • Life expectancy >/= 5 years
  • ECOG performance status <2
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  • Subject must have measurable disease, at least one lesion accurately measured in at least one dimension as >10 mm with CT scan.
  • Hematologic Absolute neutrophil count > 1,000/mm3, Hemoglobin > 8.0 g/dl Platelet count > 100,000/mm3 Leukocytes >3,000/mcL
  • Hepatic Total Bilirubin ≤ ULN; AST and ALT and Alkaline Phosphatase within the eligible range
  • Renal - creatinine within normal institutional limits or >60 mL/min/1.73 m2 creatinine > institutional normal
  • Women of childbearing potential with negative pregnancy test.
  • Men and women of childbearing age willing to use effective contraception

Who cannot join

  • N3 nodal disease according to AJCC guidelines
  • Retropharyngeal nodal involvement
  • Trismus
  • Second primary head and neck tumor unless it is/was a basal or squamous cell skin cancer
  • Prior surgery, chemotherapy, biologic or radiotherapy for a head or neck malignancy
  • Concurrent investigational agent or intervention (within 90 days of screening visit)
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  • History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to docetaxol, cisplatin, 5- fluorouracil, or carboplatin.
  • History of severe hypersensitivity reaction to drugs formulated with polysorbate 80
  • Breastfeeding women
  • Pre-existing peripheral neuropathy grade > 3
  • Evidence of distant metastatic disease
  • Unknown primary site
  • Prior or concurrent malignancies (excluding adequately treated basal or squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer, stage I or II cancer from which the subject has been in complete remission for at least 12 months (excluding head and neck), any cancer from which the subject has been cancer free for 5 years)
  • History of allergies to any of the pre-medications.
  • Investigator consideration based upon screening interview and/or procedures
  • Evidence of bone invasion/destruction
  • Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
  • Pregnant women
  • History of HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or delta antigen
  • Known allergy to India Ink or methylene blue

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

    Springfield, Illinois, 62701

Other trials in United States

About this study

This is a non-randomized open-label investigator initiated pilot study comparing follow-up therapy of advanced head and neck cancer subjects initially treated with triple induction chemotherapy. Subjects will receive surgical treatment or combined chemoradiation therapy based on the subject's apparent clinical response. Spared use of radiation therapy for selective patients who have a complete response to induction chemotherapy could improve well being of this patient population without compromising survival.

Read the detailed description

An important observation of the induction triple chemotherapy regimen know as TPF is that there was an unprecedented high proportion of patients treated who had a complete response of their disease upon the completion of the induction phase. In a recent study by Haddad, et al., a biopsy was performed in all patients following induction chemotherapy and before starting concomitant chemoradiotherapy. Patients with an incomplete response to chemoradiotherapy or who had N3 disease had a neck dissection 6 to 12 weeks after chemoradiotherapy. Twenty-nine neck dissections were performed after chemoradiotherapy. The neck dissection result was pathologically positive in 7 (24%) patients (all alive with no evidence of disease) and negative in 22 (76%) patients (21 alive with no evidence of disease). Post-TPF, primary site biopsy result was negative in 64 patients (89%) and positive in 8 patients (11%). While the protocol required all patients to subsequently receive concomitant chemoradiation regardless of disease response to the induction component of the regimen, it is reasonable to question whether the complete responder subset really needed to undergo the same intensive chemoradiation treatment compared to the partial responders. Thus, a less intense therapy may be sufficient. The long term goal of this protocol is to alter the model of highly effective cancer therapy from what is maximally tolerated by the patient to what is minimally necessary for a cure.

One treatment strategy for patients with advanced head and neck cancer who prove to be highly sensitive to chemotherapy is to combine the modalities of polychemotherapy and conservation surgery with the goal of avoiding radiation therapy. For those patients whose primary disease is classified as T2-3 (resectable), and who have a complete response following induction therapy, it is feasible to perform an organ preservation tumor nidusectomy at the primary site to verify that the clinical complete response is truly pathological complete response. Similarly, the clinical complete response observed for the associated nodal disease, can be verified pathologically by performing a selective neck dissection without causing significant morbidity. Both tumor nidusectomy and selective neck dissection has been shown to be an effective adjuvant in this setting. Building on these observations, the novel protocol outlined in this proposal has the potential to spare the use of radiation therapy for selective patients who have a complete response to induction chemotherapy and thereby improve their well being without compromising survival.

Being tested
radiation combined with weekly carboplatin, conservation surgery
Keywords
head and neck cancer, chemotherapy, radiation
Medical subject headings
Head and Neck Neoplasms

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • radiation combined with weekly carboplatinOther

    Also called Docetaxel, Taxotere, Cisplatin, Platinol

    recommended premedications: Aloxi 0.25 mg IV; Dexamethasone 20 mg IV; Fosaprepitant 115 mg IV; Aprepitant 80 mg PO; Ativan 1.0 mg IV;

    Mucositis treatment should involve local measures to maintain oral hygiene, oral nystatin or fluconazole, or valacyclovir for viral infection.

    Induction Triple Therapy Treatment with TPF:

    Docetaxel (Taxotere) 75 mg/m2 IV; Cisplatin (Platinol) 100 mg/m2 IV; 1500 cc Normal Saline w/20meq KCL, 1 gram MgSo4 IV; 5-Fluorouracil (Adrucil) 1000 mg/m2 day IV-continuous infusion over 4 days; Neulasta* 6 mg SC Day 5 (*Neupogen may be substituted at the investigator's discretion)

  • conservation surgeryProcedure or surgery

    Also called Docetaxel, Taxotere, Cisplatin, Platinol

    Following induction triple chemotherapy, subjects will be restaged by physical examination and radiological imaging. If there is an absence of unequivocal evidence for residual disease (i.e. an apparent complete response), the subject will undergo conservation surgery under general anesthesia, using a transoral approach. Minimal tissue removal through direct access. The surgical specimen will be evaluated by a pathologist in the manner standard for the institution. The presence of residual tumor will be classified as a partial response to induction triple chemotherapy and the subject will undergo concomitant chemoradiotherapy. If there is no evidence of residual disease in the surgical specimen, the subject will be followed for recurrence.

Study groups in NCT01111942
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
radiation and weekly carboplatinActive comparatorNot described
Receives: Other: radiation combined with weekly carboplatin
conservation surgeryOtherNot described
Receives: Procedure: conservation surgery

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Rate of pathologic complete response

    To assess the rate of pathologic complete response of subjects (based on analysis of the surgical specimen), in both the primary site as well as the lymph nodes, with resectable stage III-IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx treated with TPF induction chemotherapy followed by conservation (organ preservation) surgery for clinically complete responders

    Measured: 42 months

Secondary outcomes (6)
  1. 2 year overall survival

    To assess the 2 year overall survival of subjects with resectable stage III-IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx treated with TPF induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation for clinically incomplete responders.

    Measured: 42 months

  2. Clinical complete response

    To report the rate of clinical complete response of the local population following TPF induction chemotherapy

    Measured: 42 months

  3. 2 year disease-free survival

    To assess the 2 year disease-free survival of both subject groups

    Measured: 42 months

  4. Quality of life

    Change in quality of life status at end of treatment, 1 year, and 2 year relative to baseline

    Measured: 42 months

  5. Incidence of HPV and EGFR positivity

    To assess the incidence in both subject groups

    Measured: 42 months

  6. K-ras mutational analysis

    To assess the incidence in both subject groups

    Measured: 42 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted28 Apr 2010 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 2010
  3. Primary completionJan 2014
  4. Study completionJan 2014

Why it stopped: lack of enrollment

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Early Phase 1
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
4 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01111942
Sponsor's protocol ID
ROB-SCCI 10-001-1
Status last verified
Aug 2015
First submitted
26 Apr 2010
Last updated
5 Aug 2015
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Publications

  • Robbins KT, Howell SB, Williams JS. Intra-arterial chemotherapy for head and neck cancer: is there a verdict? Cancer. 2010 May 1;116(9):2068-70. doi: 10.1002/cncr.24930. No abstract available.

    PubMed 20186833
  • Malone J, Robbins KT. Neck dissection after chemoradiation for carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract: indications and complications. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2010 Apr;18(2):89-94. doi: 10.1097/MOO.0b013e32833693e7.

    PubMed 20125024
  • Malone JP, Gerberi MA, Vasireddy S, Hughes LF, Rao K, Shevlin B, Kuhn M, Collette D, Tennenhouse J, Robbins KT. Early prediction of response to chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer: reliability of restaging with combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009 Nov;135(11):1119-25. doi: 10.1001/archoto.2009.152.

    PubMed 19917925
  • Rogers LQ, Rao K, Malone J, Kandula P, Ronen O, Markwell SJ, Courneya KS, Robbins KT. Factors associated with quality of life in outpatients with head and neck cancer 6 months after diagnosis. Head Neck. 2009 Sep;31(9):1207-14. doi: 10.1002/hed.21084.

    PubMed 19360748
  • Robbins KT, Homma A. Intra-arterial chemotherapy for head and neck cancer: experiences from three continents. Surg Oncol Clin N Am. 2008 Oct;17(4):919-33, xi. doi: 10.1016/j.soc.2008.04.015.

    PubMed 18722926

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Early Phase 1 study testing radiation combined with weekly carboplatin and conservation surgery in people with Head and Neck Cancer, run by Southern Illinois University at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 12 inclusion and 20 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 5 Aug 2015. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Early Phase 1 (sometimes called Phase 0) studies give a very small amount of a treatment to a few people, mainly to see how the body handles it.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study was stopped early (reason given: lack of enrollment). Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Rate of pathologic complete response (time frame: 42 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01111942, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 5 Aug 2015.

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