Ketogenic Diet Phase 1 for Head & Neck Cancer

June 21, 2018 updated by: Bryan Allen

A Phase I Trial of a Ketogenic Diet With Concurrent Chemoradiation for Head and Neck Cancer

This study investigates if using a very low carbohydrate diet during combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy is safe and if it can be tolerated by patients.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Standard treatment for head & neck cancer often includes chemotherapy concurrent with radiation therapy (chemoradiation).

This study is a phase I trial to determine the safety of dietary manipulation during chemoradiation for head & neck cancer. Specifically, pre-clinical data from mouse studies indicates a ketogenic diet increases tumor cell killing.

Participants will:

  • Utilize a specialized ketogenic diet designed by bionutritional services of the clinical research unit. This diet begins 2 days before chemoradiation and continues through at least 5 weeks of chemoradiation.
  • Have blood drawn for research purposes weekly to determine measurements of oxidative stress
  • Have urine collected sporadically through the study to determine measurements of oxidative stress
  • Keep a diary of concomitant medications, side effects, and blood sugars
  • Have follow-up to monitor for outcomes and overall survival

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
14

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Iowa
      • Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52242
        • Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Histologically or cytologically documented squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, larynx or hypopharynx. HPV status will not be assessed for eligibility; while HPV status may affect response to therapy, efficacy is not an outcome measure for this phase I study.
  • Candidate for primary chemoradiation as decided by an interdisciplinary team including otolaryngology, medical oncology, and radiation oncology.
  • Cancer should be staged via AJCC as stage II, III or IVa.
  • Age ≥ 18 years
  • ECOG performance status 0-2 (Karnofsky > 50%, see Appendix A).
  • Patients must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below:
  • leukocytes ≥ 3,000/mm3
  • absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm3
  • platelets ≥ 100,000/mm3
  • total bilirubin < 1.5 mg/dl
  • Hgb A1C < 8%
  • AST(SGOT) < 2 X institutional upper limit of normal
  • creatinine < 1.5 X institutional upper limit of normal OR calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal.
  • Not pregnant. Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately.
  • Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Life expectancy of 3 or less months.
  • Prior neck and/or upper thoracic radiotherapy that would cause an overlap of treatment fields.
  • Prior therapy to the head and neck, with the intent to treat, the current diagnosis of head & neck cancer.
  • Known / established G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) deficiency.
  • Chronic system corticosteroids for any reason (inhaled corticosteroids are allowed). Pre-medication for chemotherapy is acceptable.
  • Other investigational agents/therapy with the intention to treat the disease under study (observational or imaging trials are acceptable).
  • Uncontrolled diabetes defined as a hemoglobin A1C level > 8% (therapeutic action is indicated at greater than 8%).
  • Diabetes is not exclusionary provided the patient is not maintained with either oral medications or insulin.
  • Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements as determined by study team members.
  • Pregnant or lactating women: The risks of radiation and chemotherapy to a fetus are well documented.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Ketogenic diet
Ketogenic diet designed to sustain ketone levels through treatment.
Dietary supplement: Ketogenic diet
A ketogenic diet matching the fat to carbohydrate + proteins in Keto-Cal(R) 4:1 by Nutricia North America.
Device: External beam radiation therapy
Other Names:
  • IMRT
  • radiation therapy
  • intensity modulated radiation therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Frequency of adverse events (safety)
Time Frame: weekly for 5 weeks
Categorize and quantify adverse events in subjects implementing a ketogenic diet while undergoing definitive chemoradiation therapy.
weekly for 5 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Ketone levels
Time Frame: Daily during treatment for 5 weeks
Quantify blood ketone levels via both finger-stick prior to daily radiation therapy and weekly lab analysis while on a ketogenic diet. Radiation is administered Monday through Friday only.
Daily during treatment for 5 weeks
Blood glucose levels
Time Frame: daily during treatment for 5 weeks
Quantify blood glucose levels via finger-stick prior to daily radiation therapy while on a ketogenic diet. Radiation therapy is administered Monday through Friday only.
daily during treatment for 5 weeks
Oxidative stress parameters
Time Frame: Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of treatment and at 1 month follow-up
Determine oxidative stress parameters in plasma and urine samples during the course of treatment.
Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of treatment and at 1 month follow-up
Progression Free Survival (months)
Time Frame: Every 12 months for 60 months
From date of treatment until the first date of documented progression or date of death, whichever comes first, assessed no less than every 12 months for the first 60 months post-therapy
Every 12 months for 60 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Bryan Allen

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
Nutricia North America

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Bryan G. Allen, MD, PhD, University of Iowa

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 11, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 29, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 29, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 5, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 26, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 21, 2018

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 201309759
  • 3P30CA086862 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Data will be shared on clinicaltrials.gov

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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