Head and Neck Cancer clinical trials at UCSF

This phase II/III trial studies how well a reduced dose of radiation therapy works with nivolumab compared to cisplatin in treating patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer that is early in its growth and may not have spread to other parts of the body (early-stage), and is not associated with smoking. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. This trial is being done to see if a reduced dose of radiation therapy and nivolumab works as well as standard dose radiation therapy and cisplatin in treating patients with oropharyngeal cancer.

This will be a blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized, phase 2 study in which subjects will be randomly assigned 1:1 to cemiplimab plus placebo or cemiplimab plus ISA101b.

This is a Phase 1a/1b, open-label, multicenter, global, dose-escalation study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, immune response, and pharmacokinetics of autogene cevumeran (RO7198457) as a single agent and in combination with atezolizumab (MPDL3280A, an engineered anti-programmed death-ligand 1 [anti-PD-L1] antibody).

This phase I trial studies the best dose and side effects of abexinostat and how well it works with given together with pembrolizumab in treating participants with microsatellite instability (MSI) solid tumors that have spread to other places in the body. Abexinostat may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving abexinostat and pembrolizumab may work better in treating participants with solid tumors.

This is an open-label, multicenter, global Phase 2 basket study of entrectinib (RXDX-101) for the treatment of patients with solid tumors that harbor an NTRK1/2/3, ROS1, or ALK gene fusion. Patients will be assigned to different baskets according to tumor type and gene fusion.

This is a Phase 1/1b open-label, dose escalation and dose expansion study of CPI-006, a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting the CD73 cell-surface ectonucleotidase in adult subjects with select advanced cancers. CPI-006 will be evaluated as a single agent, in combination with ciforadenant (an oral adenosine 2A receptor antagonist), in combination with pembrolizumab (an anti-PD1 antibody), and in combination with ciforadenant and pembrolizumab.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether pembrolizumab, when given after salvage surgery, is effective in increasing the time a person with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck remains disease-free following locoregional disease recurrence.

This trial evaluates how well a new therapeutic device works in managing trismus in patients who received radiation treatment for head and neck cancer. Radiation therapy is a common form of treatment in patients with head and neck cancers. However, changes to surrounding tissue following radiation therapy may lead to trismus, an inability to open the mouth fully. This can create significant functional impairment leading to malnutrition due to impaired chewing, risk of dental infections due to impaired oral hygiene, difficulty with speech, and decreased health-related quality of life. Exercise therapy is the mainstay of treatment for post-radiation trismus to help improve mobility and flexibility and increase range of mouth opening. This new device is non-invasive and is similar to other jaw stretching devices where a mouthpiece is placed between the teeth and a hand-lever is used to spread open the upper and lower jaw. However, it will also have additional sensors to measure pressure exerted by the hands and jaw as well as the distance to open the mouth which could help guide therapy. This study may help doctors customize a device to patient-specific needs, provide real-time feedback, and encourage compliance for trismus exercise therapy.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Monoclonal antibodies, such as cetuximab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy is more effective with cisplatin or cetuximab in treating oropharyngeal cancer. PURPOSE: This phase III trial is studying radiation therapy with cisplatin or cetuximab to see how well it works in treating patients with oropharyngeal cancer.

This phase II/III trial studies how well radiation therapy works with durvalumab or cetuximab in treating patients with head and neck cancer that has spread to a local and/or regional area of the body who cannot take cisplatin. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as durvalumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Cetuximab is a monoclonal antibody that may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. It is not known if radiation therapy with durvalumab will work better than the usual therapy of radiation therapy with cetuximab in treating patients with head and neck cancer.

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. It is not yet known whether radiation therapy is more effective when given together with chemotherapy or alone after surgery in treating salivary gland tumors. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II/III trial is studying radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy to see how well it works in treating patients with high-risk malignant salivary gland tumors that have been removed by surgery.

This randomized phase II trial studies the side effects and how well modestly reduced-dose intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with or without cisplatin works in treating patients with oropharyngeal cancer that has spread to other places in the body (advanced). Radiation therapy uses high energy x rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known whether IMRT is more effective with or without cisplatin in treating patients with oropharyngeal cancer.

A phase 1a/1b, open-label, RM-1995 drug-dose escalation study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and preliminary efficacy of RM-1995 photoimmunotherapy treatment as monotherapy (phase 1a) or combined with pembrolizumab (phase 1b) in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cuSCC) or head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) that has progressed despite all available standard therapies.

An international, multicenter, open-label, 2 cohort, non-comparative, pivotal study evaluating the efficacy of tipifarnib in HRAS mutant HNSCC (AIM-HN). The first cohort will assess the objective response rate (ORR) of tipifarnib in subjects with HNSCC with HRAS mutations. The second study cohort, SEQ-HN, is an observational sub-study including HNSCC patients in whom HRAS mutations were not identified (wild type HRAS HNSCC) and who consent to provide first line outcome data and additional follow up.

This phase II trial investigates how well sodium thiosulfate works in preventing ototoxicity (hearing loss/damage) in patients with squamous cell cancer of the head and neck that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced) who are undergoing a chemoradiation. Sodium thiosulfate is a type of medication used to treat cyanide poisoning and to help lessen the side effects from cisplatin. Chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving chemotherapy with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells. The purpose of this trial is to find out whether it is feasible to give sodium thiosulfate 4 hours after each cisplatin infusion along with standard of care radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer. Giving sodium thiosulfate after cisplatin may help decrease the risk of hearing loss.

This is a Phase 1b/2, open-label multicenter study evaluating NKTR-255 as a monotherapy and together with cetuximab in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), colorectal carcinoma (CRC), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), anal cell carcinoma (ASCC) and cervical cancer. The recommended phase 2 dose of NKTR-255, determined in the dose escalation phase (Phase 1b), will be used to treat patients in Phase 2 of this study.

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab given concomitantly with chemoradiation (CRT) and as maintenance therapy versus placebo plus CRT in participants with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA HNSCC). The primary hypothesis is that pembrolizumab in combination with CRT is superior to placebo in combination with CRT with respect to event-free survival (EFS).

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of retifanlimab plus INCAGN02385 and retifanlimab plus INCAGN02385 and INCAGN02390 compared with retifanlimab alone as first-line treatment in PD-L1-positive and systemic therapy-naive recurrent/metastatic (R/M) squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

This multicentre, open-label, Phase 1b/2 study is designed as a 2 part study consisting of a dose-escalation, safety run-in Part A and a dose-expansion Part B

This is a phase 1/1b open label, multicenter dose escalation and dose expansion study to investigate the safety, tolerability and anti-tumor activity of TPST-1120, a small molecule selective antagonist of PPARα (peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha) as monotherapy and in combination with a systemic anticancer agent, nivolumab, an anti-PD1 antibody, in subjects with advanced solid tumors.

This randomized phase II trial studies how well transoral surgery followed by low-dose or standard-dose radiation therapy works in treating patients with human papilloma virus (HPV) positive stage III-IVA oropharyngeal cancer. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill tumor cells. 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 radiation therapy with chemotherapy may kill any tumor cells that remain after surgery. It is not yet known how much extra treatment needs to be given after surgery.

A 10 week trial to assess the ability of Tempol to prevent and/or reduce toxicities associated with cisplatin and radiation treatment in head and neck cancer patients. Over the course of the 10 week trial, mucositis, nephrotoxicity, and ototoxicity will be monitored and assessed.

PURPOSE: This trial is studying if and how well lapatinib adds to the effectiveness of radiation therapy plus cisplatin in patients who have head and neck cancer that is not related to the human papillomavirus (HPV).