Lymphatic Mapping Of Oropharyngeal Cancer (LOOC)

September 11, 2024 updated by: University College, London

Prospective, Multi-Centre, Phase II Validation Study for a Lymphatic Imaging Protocol in Establishing Drainage Patterns in Patients With Oropharyngeal Cancer

A multi-centre validation study to evaluate whether a new imaging and surgical protocol would work as well as the current gold standard in identifying sentinel nodes in patients with oropharyngeal cancer.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Cancer at the back of the mouth and throat is usually discovered after it has spread to lymph glands in the neck. Treatment therefore involves dealing with both the original tumour (in the mouth/throat) and the spread cancer in the lymph glands. This type of cancer sometimes spreads to both sides of the neck, not just the side on which the original tumour was located. The decision as to whether to treat the other side of the neck as well depends on various factors including the aggressiveness of the tumour, whether the patient smokes and whether or not the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is present in the tumour. This is inevitably inexact, and assessing the likelihood of the cancer spreading to the other side of the neck always involves an element of estimation. Some patients end up being treated unnecessarily on both sides (often with severe and lasting effects on swallowing, meaning they have to use a feeding tube), while others receive treatment on one side only but the cancer comes back on the other side.

This study will provide more accurate information on which to base the decision as to whether to treat the other side of the neck. The study will use a procedure known as sentinel node biopsy (SNB) to establish (with a high degree of accuracy) whether or not the cancer has spread to the other side of the neck. The study will be in two stages. The first stage is the imaging stage. A very low does of a radioactive tracer substance will be injected into the tumour. The radioactive tracers used in this study are either Human albumin colloidal particles or Lymphoseek. Once injected, they move quickly into the lymph nodes and can then be detected using a handheld gamma camera. The first nodes that the radiotracer moves into are the "sentinel" nodes. Patients already undergo an examination under anaesthetic (EUA); the patients participating in the study will have the radiotracer injected additionally and the sentinel nodes detected during this EUA. The use of the handheld camera is relatively new; so, all of the patients in the study will also have a CT scan the next day to double check whether the handheld camera identified the sentinel nodes correctly. The second stage of the study, the surgery stage, will involve a new group of patients having the imaging procedure. Those who do have sentinel nodes in the other side of the neck will have them removed during the EUA. Those nodes will then be examined thoroughly for signs of cancer. A separate limb of stage one of the study will involve some patients whose main tumours are easily accessible also having their tumour injected with the radiotracer a second time under local anaesthetic in an outpatient clinic. In the study this will take place several days after the initial injection with the radiotracer. If this procedure is found to be acceptable to patients, it would mean that patients could have the radiotracer injected before the EUA, thereby allowing time for the sentinel nodes to be identified by CT scan so that they can be removed during the EUA. This will provide a way to ensure that, even if the handheld camera cannot be used, the sentinel nodes can still be removed while the patient is under anaesthetic for the EUA. If the study is successful, the patient will be able to have much more accurate information about whether their cancer has, or might, spread to the other side of the neck, without having to undergo an additional general anaesthetic.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

150

Phase

  • 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 Contact

Study Locations

      • London, United Kingdom
      • London, United Kingdom, SW17 0QT
        • Recruiting
        • St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
        • Contact:
          • Enyi Ofo

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged 18 or over
  • New diagnosis of OPC - all anatomical subsites and HPV status accepted
  • Unilateral metastatic nodes equating to AJCC TNM8 clinical staging N1-N2b for P16 negative and N1 for P16 positive patients.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Suspicious bilateral nodes on imaging
  • Previous radiotherapy or surgery to the neck
  • Second primary oropharyngeal tumours
  • Distant metastasis (e.g. lung, bone)
  • Pregnancy and lactation
  • Inability to give informed consent
  • Allergy to lymphatic tracers

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: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Surgical Phase
Excision of contralateral nodes identified on imaging *(fhSPECT or SPECT/CT*) during routine examination under anaesthetic. Serial sectioning of excised (sentinel) nodes to identify micrometastasis.
Excision of contralateral nodes identified on imaging *(fhSPECT or SPECT/CT*) during routine examination under anaesthetic. Serial sectioning of excised (sentinel) nodes to identify micrometastasis.
Experimental: Imaging Phase
During routine examination under anaesthetic 4 x peritumoural injection of investigator's choice of 99mTc-human albumin colloidal particles or Lymphoseek (lymphatic mapping tracer) followed by freehand SPECT scan
During routine examination under anaesthetic 4 x peritumoural injection of investigator's choice of 99mTc-human albumin colloidal particles or Lymphoseek (lymphatic mapping tracer) followed by freehand SPECT scan

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rate of contralateral drainage
Time Frame: 24 hours post injection
Rate of contralateral drainage
24 hours post injection
Accuracy of detection of contralateral nodes by lymphoscintigraphy using fhSPECT compared to SPECT/CT
Time Frame: 24 hours post injection
Accuracy of detection of contralateral nodes by lymphoscintigraphy using fhSPECT compared to SPECT/CT
24 hours post injection
Number of contralateral nodes on SPECT/CT
Time Frame: 24 hours post injection
Number of contralateral nodes on SPECT/CT will be used as the denominator in calculating the sensitivity of fhSPECT in independently verified images
24 hours post injection
Number and location of contralateral nodes seen with lymphoscintigraphy performed by i) single injection ii) four peritumoural injections (standard practice) as assessed by paired SPECT/CT scans.
Time Frame: 24 hours post injection
Number and location of contralateral nodes seen with lymphoscintigraphy performed by i) single injection ii) four peritumoural injections (standard practice) as assessed by paired SPECT/CT scans.
24 hours post injection
Acceptability to patients assessed by questionnaire.
Time Frame: 24 hours post injection
Acceptability to patients assessed by questionnaire.
24 hours post injection
Occult metastasis rate of contralateral nodes (positive sentinel node biopsy).
Time Frame: 24 hours post injection
Occult metastasis rate of contralateral nodes (positive sentinel node biopsy).
24 hours post injection

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Clare Schilling, University College, London

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 (Actual)

July 7, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 4, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 30, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

August 4, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 19, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 11, 2024

Last Verified

September 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 127659

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

No identifiable data will be shared with anyone outside the study

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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