INSIGHT 2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Radiation Therapy in Head and Neck Cancers Using Functional Image-Guided Radiotherapy and Novel Biomarkers
IRAS ID
245340
Contact name
Shreerang Bhide
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study is looking at improving radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancers by:
1) Repeating the radiotherapy planning scan at weeks 2 and 4 of treatment so that we can adapt the radiotherapy to changes to the shape of the cancer and the patient's body. These changes can affect the accuracy and the radiotherapy doses delivered.
2) Using a MR (magnetic resonance) scans to view and target the cancer with more precision.
3) Identifying HPV negative oropharyngeal cancer who are non-responders and increasing the radiotherapy dose.The 3 groups of patients are:
a) Cancers of the oropharynx (middle of the throat) that test positive for HPV (human papilloma virus). If HPV is present, the cancer responds better to treatment and there is a higher chance of cure. In this group, our aim is to reduce radiotherapy associated long-term side effects by sparing healthy tissue from high doses.
b) If the oropharyngeal cancers test negative for HPV, they are less likely to respond well to treatment. Our department has shown that we can predict which patients will respond to treatment using a special type of MR scan. We will increase the dose of radiotherapy to HPV negative patients who are predicted to be non-responders with the aim of improving the chance of cure.
c) Cancers that located at the base of the skull are not seen very well on CT scan. By using MR imaging, we can visualize the surrounding normal organs and the cancer better, target the cancer with more precision and adapt to changes to the healthy organs and tumour.
We will also test if we can predict response to treatment by checking blood for fragments of the cancer and using a special MRI.
The study will be conducted at the Royal Marsden in Sutton only and will be followed up for 2 years.REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0638
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion