Immunotherapy and radiation before surgery for recurrent head and neck cancer
Treatments studied
Part of Cancer clinical trials.
This trial tests a new combination for people whose head and neck cancer has come back after prior radiation. You'll receive an immunotherapy drug (pembrolizumab) plus radiation, then surgery. The goal is to see if this approach can improve how well surgery works.
Summary written for real people, not researchers, by Clin2.
Who can take part
- You have a type of head and neck cancer that has come back, and it's in your mouth, voice box, throat, or the back of your throat (but not caused by HPV).
- You can have surgery to remove your cancer, and you finished radiation therapy more than 6 months ago with at least 30 Gray (a standard dose) to the area where the cancer returned.
- Your cancer is limited to one spot (or nearby spots) that can be treated together with radiation, and the largest tumor is less than 7 centimeters.
- Your tumor has a PD-L1 score of at least 1% (a protein test that shows whether your cancer might respond to the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab).
- No other major health problems, and you are not pregnant. You must be willing to use effective birth control during the study.
Quick eligibility check
Answer a few plain-language questions, based on this study's own requirements, to get a preliminary sense of fit.
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This trial tests a combination of re-radiation and chemotherapy with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab for people whose head and neck cancer has come back after earlier treatment. It compares this approach to standard immunotherapy or chemo-immunotherapy, and may offer a new option for patients whose cancer has a specific marker (PD-L1).
This trial tests an immunotherapy drug (anti-PD-1) given before surgery for head and neck cancer that has come back or spread. The goal is to see if it helps shrink the tumor and improve outcomes.
This trial tests whether pembrolizumab (an immunotherapy drug) works better than the usual chemo plus radiation after surgery for cancer that has come back in the head and neck area. It may help reduce cancer returning or spreading by using your immune system, but eligibility depends on how the cancer came back and your prior treatments.
This trial tests three drugs (finotonlimab, cetuximab, and docetaxel) given before surgery to remove recurrent head and neck cancer in patients whose cancer stopped responding to previous immunotherapy. The goal is to shrink the tumor and improve surgical outcomes.
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