Clinical Trials for Head And Neck Cancer

Phase Ib Study of Losartan, Pembrolizumab and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) in Patients With Locoregionally Recurrent, Refractory, or Oligometastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC)

High burden on patient

The trial has a high burden on patients. An example would be a phase 1 trial with extra tumor biopsies and frequent pharmacokinetic blood draws.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with locoregionally recurrent, refractory, or oligometastatic (≤4 lesions) HNSCC (non-nasopharyngeal; CPS >1%) receive losartan lead-in, SBRT to involved sites, then pembrolizumab; prior RT/systemic therapy allowed but no prior PD‑1/PD‑L1 and no current ACEi/ARB. Losartan (angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker) is used to remodel tumor stroma and enhance radiation/immunotherapy efficacy, followed by PD‑1 blockade with pembrolizumab.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06211335

Biomarker Stratified CaboZantinib (NSC#761968) and NivOlumab (NSC#748726) (BiCaZO) - A Phase II Study of Combining Cabozantinib and Nivolumab in Participants With Advanced Solid Tumors (IO Refractory Melanoma or HNSCC) Stratified by Tumor Biomarkers - an immunoMATCH Pilot Study

Moderate burden on patient

The trial has a moderate burden on patients. An example would be a trial testing an IV drug, with scans every 8 weeks which would be more frequent than standard of care.

Started >3 years ago

The trial was activated more than 3 years ago. This is not always bad but can indicate that the trial has less current treatments, or has had trouble getting enough patients to enroll due to other issues.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with unresectable/metastatic non-uveal melanoma or recurrent/metastatic HNSCC that progressed on or within 12 weeks of prior anti–PD-1 therapy receive nivolumab plus daily cabozantinib, with enrollment stratified by tumor mutational burden and Tumor Inflammation Score. Cabozantinib is a multikinase inhibitor (MET/VEGFR2/AXL) intended to disrupt angiogenesis and the immunosuppressive microenvironment to synergize with PD-1 blockade.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05136196

A Phase II Trial of HER2-Targeted Therapies for Recurrent, Metastatic, or Unresectable HER2-Expressing Salivary Gland Cancers

Moderate burden on patient

The trial has a moderate burden on patients. An example would be a trial testing an IV drug, with scans every 8 weeks which would be more frequent than standard of care.

Started >3 years ago

The trial was activated more than 3 years ago. This is not always bad but can indicate that the trial has less current treatments, or has had trouble getting enough patients to enroll due to other issues.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with recurrent, metastatic, or unresectable HER2-expressing salivary gland cancers: HER2-positive (IHC 3+ or amplified) randomized to docetaxel + trastuzumab vs trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1, HER2-directed microtubule-inhibitor ADC) with crossover at progression; HER2-low (IHC 1+ or 2+ without amplification) receive trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd, HER2-directed topoisomerase I inhibitor ADC). Eligible with ECOG 0–2, measurable disease required for HER2-low; treated/stable and select untreated stable brain metastases allowed.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05408845

Study of Intratumoral Injections of VLPONC-01 in Head and Neck Cancer

High burden on patient

The trial has a high burden on patients. An example would be a phase 1 trial with extra tumor biopsies and frequent pharmacokinetic blood draws.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma eligible for intratumoral injection: either unresectable/recurrent/metastatic disease post–PD-1/PD-L1 and standard therapies (IT VLPONC-01 alone) or resectable stage I–IVb disease planned for surgery (neoadjuvant pembrolizumab with or without IT VLPONC-01). VLPONC-01 is a virus replicon particle–delivered self-amplifying RNA encoding IL-12 to drive local innate/adaptive immune activation and potentially sensitize tumors to PD-1 blockade.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06736379

Pilot Phase II Study to Evaluate Effect of Cetuximab Given as Single Agent After Immunotherapy With PD-1 Inhibitors in Patients With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Moderate burden on patient

The trial has a moderate burden on patients. An example would be a trial testing an IV drug, with scans every 8 weeks which would be more frequent than standard of care.

Started >3 years ago

The trial was activated more than 3 years ago. This is not always bad but can indicate that the trial has less current treatments, or has had trouble getting enough patients to enroll due to other issues.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with recurrent/metastatic HNSCC who have progressed on or were intolerant to prior PD‑1–based therapy receive single‑agent cetuximab (weekly IV), an anti‑EGFR monoclonal antibody that blocks ligand-induced signaling and mediates ADCC. Single-arm study assessing response rate, with secondary PFS/OS and safety.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04375384

3-5 FrAction Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Palliation of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: the FAST Phase II Randomized Trial

Moderate burden on patient

The trial has a moderate burden on patients. An example would be a trial testing an IV drug, with scans every 8 weeks which would be more frequent than standard of care.

Started >3 years ago

The trial was activated more than 3 years ago. This is not always bad but can indicate that the trial has less current treatments, or has had trouble getting enough patients to enroll due to other issues.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with incurable head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (including prior RT/systemic therapy and allowing metastatic disease) are randomized to short-course SBRT in 3–5 fractions versus conventional palliative external-beam radiation. The trial compares symptom relief and local control while monitoring toxicity.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05674396

Alternating Treatment Plans for Participants With Advanced Thoracic/Head & Neck Cancers (ATATcH)

Moderate burden on patient

The trial has a moderate burden on patients. An example would be a trial testing an IV drug, with scans every 8 weeks which would be more frequent than standard of care.

Started >3 years ago

The trial was activated more than 3 years ago. This is not always bad but can indicate that the trial has less current treatments, or has had trouble getting enough patients to enroll due to other issues.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with untreated metastatic NSCLC (squamous or nonsquamous without targetable drivers) or incurable recurrent/metastatic HNSCC eligible for pembrolizumab-based first line receive an alternating induction schedule of chemoimmunotherapy cycles interspersed with pembrolizumab monotherapy. Regimens use standard backbones (carboplatin/paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel for squamous NSCLC; carboplatin/pemetrexed with optional pemetrexed maintenance for nonsquamous NSCLC; carboplatin/5-FU for HNSCC) plus pembrolizumab, an anti–PD-1 antibody.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05358548

Phase II Trial of Sacituzumab Govitecan in Recurrent and/or Metastatic Secretory Gland Cancers

Moderate burden on patient

The trial has a moderate burden on patients. An example would be a trial testing an IV drug, with scans every 8 weeks which would be more frequent than standard of care.

Started >3 years ago

The trial was activated more than 3 years ago. This is not always bad but can indicate that the trial has less current treatments, or has had trouble getting enough patients to enroll due to other issues.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with recurrent/metastatic salivary gland cancers enroll into two cohorts: adenoid cystic carcinoma with recent progression, or non-ACC (SDC, intermediate/high-grade adenocarcinoma NOS, MEC) after ≤3 prior palliative chemotherapies (HER2+ must have received HER2 therapy), ECOG 0–1. Treatment is sacituzumab govitecan, a Trop-2–targeted antibody–drug conjugate delivering SN-38, given IV on days 1 and 8 of 21-day cycles; safety and efficacy are assessed separately by histology.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05884320

An Open-Label Phase II Clinical Trial Assessing the Safety, Feasibility, Efficacy and Immunological Correlates of Heterologous Prime-Boost With pBI-11 (IM) and TA-HPV (IM) Combined With Pembrolizumab as Treatment for Patients With Advanced, PD-L1 CPS≥1, hrHPV+ Oropharyngeal Cancer

Moderate burden on patient

The trial has a moderate burden on patients. An example would be a trial testing an IV drug, with scans every 8 weeks which would be more frequent than standard of care.

Started >3 years ago

The trial was activated more than 3 years ago. This is not always bad but can indicate that the trial has less current treatments, or has had trouble getting enough patients to enroll due to other issues.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with recurrent/metastatic, p16+/hrHPV+ oropharyngeal carcinoma and PD-L1 CPS≥1 eligible for first-line pembrolizumab receive a heterologous HPV vaccine prime-boost (pBI-11 DNA vaccine encoding HPV16/18 antigens and TA-HPV recombinant vaccinia expressing HPV16/18 E6/E7) plus pembrolizumab. Aims to enhance HPV-specific cellular immunity and improve response versus PD-1 blockade alone; excludes prior systemic therapy for R/M disease and patients with active CNS metastases or significant immunosuppression/autoimmunity.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05799144

Combination Radiotherapy and Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Treatment Planning for Thyroid Cancer

Moderate burden on patient

The trial has a moderate burden on patients. An example would be a trial testing an IV drug, with scans every 8 weeks which would be more frequent than standard of care.

Started >3 years ago

The trial was activated more than 3 years ago. This is not always bad but can indicate that the trial has less current treatments, or has had trouble getting enough patients to enroll due to other issues.

TrialFetch AI summary: Adults with iodine‑avid but RAI‑insufficient papillary/follicular DTC with unresectable locoregional invasion and/or distant metastases receive individualized combination therapy of systemic I‑131 and external beam radiotherapy, using integrated dosimetry to escalate cumulative dose (target ≥80 Gy) to selected lesions. Aims to assess safety and preliminary efficacy with coordinated RAI+XRT planning in patients with adequate organ function and no contraindications to TSH stimulation or radiation.

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04892303