Clinical Research Directory

DESTINY-PANTUMOUR04

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of T-DXd in patients with HER2-positive (IHC 3+) locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic solid tumors who have received prior systemic treatment for metastatic or advanced disease and have no satisfactory alternative treatment options in a real-world setting in the US

CApecitabine Prior to TUmor Resection in Ent Oncology (CAPTURE)

head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a type of cancer that affects areas such as the mouth, throat, and voice box. Despite medical progress, little has changed in the care for patients with HPV-negative cancer. The standard care involves surgery followed by radiation or chemotherapy if needed. However, delays in starting treatment - especially beyond six weeks - are linked to worse outcomes. Many patients also experience cancer returning within two years, often making it harder to treat. This study aims to improve outcomes by giving patients a short course of capecitabine, a chemotherapy pill, before surgery. Capecitabine is easier to tolerate than traditional intravenous chemotherapy and has shown promising results in shrinking tumors. Researchers believe that starting this oral treatment early could reduce delays, shrink tumors, make surgery less complex, and improve survival. The clinical trial will randomly assign patients with newly diagnosed stage III or IVa HPV-negative head and neck cancer to receive either standard care or capecitabine before surgery. Surgery will be performed within six weeks of diagnosis, followed by additional therapy as needed. The study will measure how well the tumor responds under the microscope after surgery, how much it shrinks on scans, the safety of the treatment, and cancer-free survival at two years. It will also explore biological markers linked to treatment response. If successful, this approach could offer a simpler, faster, and more effective way to treat head and neck cancer, leading to earlier treatment, less invasive surgery, and improved patient outcomes. The study plans to include about 62 patients to evaluate the benefits of this new treatment strategy

Real-time Molecular Diagnosis of Oral Precancer

The "Real-time molecular diagnosis of oral precancer" or the LIP study is testing a new device for the detection of cancer in the mouth. Oral cancers are serious and devastating illnesses, especially if detected at a late stage. Currently, the detection of oral cancer relies on testing a biopsy, which involves cutting a small section of tissue from the mouth and sending it to the pathology laboratory for further testing. A doctor or dentist taking the biopsy must rely on their own eyesight and experience to spot areas of concern. It can therefore be difficult to detect the earliest stages of cancer. At times, cancer tissue is only detected because it has already developed, and this affects the success of the treatment. The device tested in this study uses a laser beam to scan areas inside the mouth and a computer collects information about the scan. The goal of this project is to train the computer software in the device to recognize pre-cancer and cancer from normal scans. Patients who need to have a biopsy due to suspected pre-cancer or cancer in the mouth will be scanned with the device. Biopsy reports will be used to tell the software which scans were from pre-cancer or cancer or non-cancer tissues. Volunteers with healthy oral tissue will be included to further test the computer software. Secondary aims include collecting pilot safety data and feedback regarding the use of this device. If successful, the results from this pilot study will lead to a bigger trial to further study how the device can be used for cancer diagnosis.