Head and Neck Cancer Paid Clinical Trials in Maryland

Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer generally have favorable outcomes and how well they do depends on the specific details about the patient and their cancer. How well they do isn't as related to the kinds of treatment they get. However, there are significant side effects for the various types of treatments they may get. Because these patients generally have favorable outcomes no matter the kind of treatment, reducing side effects should be a priority when choosing their treatment. The goal of this clinical research study is to evaluate whether a new blood test called a Circulating Tumor DNA test (ctDNA test) can decrease the number of people that require radiation after surgery. This blood test is often elevated in people when they are diagnosed with head and neck cancer. There are studies that show that cancer most often returns when this blood test is positive after treatment. This study will test patients' blood before and after surgery. In cases where the test is negative after surgery, people on the study will not receive radiation unless they are considered high risk based on surgery findings. The hope is that radiation and its potential side effects can be limited to only people that need the treatment. Read Less

Background: Cisplatin is used to treat head and neck cancer. People who take this drug are at risk for hearing loss. Atorvastatin is a drug used to treat high cholesterol. It might reduce the risk of cisplatin-induced hearing loss. Objective: To find out if atorvastatin reduces hearing loss in people treated with cisplatin and radiation. Eligibility: People ages 18 and older with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who will undergo treatment with cisplatin-based chemotherapy and radiation Design: Participants will be screened with their medical records. Participants currently taking a cholesterol-lowering statin medication are invited to participate in the observational arm of the study. Those not taking such a medication are invited to participate in the interventional arm of the study. All participants will have 3 study visits for the purpose of evaluating hearing. One before starting cisplatin treatment, one within 3 months of completing cancer treatment, and one within 2 years of completing cancer treatment. They will have tympanograms. A small flexible tip will be placed in the ear canal. A puff of air will be delivered to assess mobility of the ear drum. They will have hearing tests. They will wear headphones. They will listen to tones that vary in loudness. They will be asked to indicate when they hear a sound. They will complete 3 questionnaires at the time of each hearing test. Participants will have 2 visits for blood tests. These will occur upon consent and 12 weeks after. They will be randomly assigned to take the study drug or placebo orally, once daily. They will take it during cisplatin treatment and for 3 months after treatment. Long-term follow up will include a chart review 2 years after participants complete their cisplatin therapy. Read Less

This research is being done to collect and store biological specimens (biospecimens) from people with cancer, regardless of tumor type, who are receiving treatments known or thought to have an effect on the immune system. The goal of this discovery and exploratory study is to: * Understand changes in the immune system associated with various cancer treatments, in order to better design new therapies or tests to predict how these treatments might work. * Identify risk factors for those who go on to develop side effects from immunotherapy. * Identify the molecular features associated with response and resistance to cancer therapies and immunotherapy using integrative genomic and immune repertoire characterization. * Capture and characterize systemic tumor burden by minimally invasive analyses of circulating tumor DNA. Participants may be asked to: * Donate samples of tumor, blood, lymph nodes, white blood cells, mouth cells (buccal smears) scraped from the inside of participant's cheek, urine, saliva, or other tissue samples. * Complete questionnaires about immunotherapy side effects at baseline and with follow-up appointments. * Undergo knee x-rays. * Allow the use of demographic and clinical information. Read Less

The primary objective of radiation therapy is to deliver a therapeutic dose of radiation precisely to the target while minimizing exposure to healthy surrounding tissues. Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) involves acquiring cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans just before or during treatment sessions. By comparing the CBCT images with the reference images from the treatment planning process, clinicians can make necessary adjustments to ensure precise targeting and account for any changes that may have occurred since the initial planning. Conventional CBCT technology is, however, limited by several factors including long acquisition times that result in motion artifacts in the image, smaller fields of view that limit the volume of anatomy that can be imaged, poor image quality that limits soft tissue visibility, and artifacts created by dense metal implants. This study will evaluate a novel CBCT imaging solution ("HyperSight") that has the potential to address the challenges of conventional CBCT. Read Less

The goal of this trial is to determine whether it is possible to minimize radiation dose to parts of the brain that are important for thinking and learning in children who require radiation to treat their tumor, and if this will help reduce neurocognitive (thinking and learning) impairments in these patients. Patients with newly diagnosed brain or head and neck tumors who are having radiation therapy will have neurocognitive testing and MRI imaging (both research and for regular care) done as part of their participation in the study. Survivors of childhood brain tumors who completed radiation therapy at least two years before joining the study, and have not had a recurrence, will have neurocognitive testing and research MRIs completed. Healthy children will also be enrolled and have research MRIs done. The researchers will use the radiation plan to determine how much radiation was delivered to different parts of the brain. The investigators will use the MRIs to determine how the normal brain is changing after treatment; and how this compares to patients who had standard radiation treatment or who never had a brain tumor. The neurocognitive testing will be compared among different groups to see how different treatment plans affect performance on neurocognitive tests. Read Less