Head and Neck Cancer Trial, Recruiting

Written by an AI model from ClinicalTrials.gov eligibility criteria and checked on a sample basis. Please confirm against the original criteria.

Who might be able to join this trial:

• People aged 18 or older
• People who are able to give informed consent to participate
• People who are well enough to carry out everyday activities with little or no limitation (this is measured using a standard scale called ECOG, scores 0–2)
• People whose cancer is being treated with the goal of cure
• People who can read and understand English well enough to fill in questionnaires about how they are feeling
• People who have been diagnosed with a type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), confirmed by a tissue sample (biopsy)
• People who have had surgery to fully remove a primary skin cancer tumour in the head or neck area
• People whose tumour is at a certain stage of size or spread (stages T1–T4 under a standard cancer staging system), or whose tumour stage is unknown but who have a cancer-positive lymph node near the ear or in the neck that the treating doctor believes came from a head and neck skin SCC
• People whose cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes at a certain level (stages N1–N3 under the same staging system)
• People who have at least one reason why additional radiation treatment after surgery would be recommended, such as: a larger tumour (T3 or T4); cancer found in blood or lymph vessels within the tissue; cancer found along nerve pathways in the tissue; surgical margins that were positive or very close to cancer cells (3mm or less); one or more positive lymph nodes near the ear or in the neck; or cancer that has come back more than once or appeared in multiple spots
• People who have received or are receiving immunotherapy (before or after surgery) may also be eligible

Who may not be able to join:

• People whose cancer has clearly spread to distant parts of the body at the time of diagnosis
• People who are pregnant or breastfeeding
• People with serious health conditions or other medical reasons that would make surgery or radiation unsafe
• People who have had a previous head or neck cancer within the last 5 years — though a history of localised skin cancers that had not spread to lymph nodes or elsewhere may not exclude someone (confirm with trial site)
• People who have previously had radiation to the same side of the head or neck involving the parotid gland (near the ear) or nearby lymph nodes — though prior radiation directly to the skin cancer being treated in this trial may be acceptable if there is no meaningful overlap with the new radiation area, as judged by the treating doctor (confirm with trial site)
• People whose cancer has spread to lymph nodes on the opposite side of the neck, which would require radiation to that side
• People who have had another serious (invasive) cancer within the past 5 years, unless that cancer has been treated and there is no current evidence of it

Important: Always verify eligibility with the trial site directly before applying.