Clinical and Molecular Features of Oral Premalignancy and Oral Cancer

April 13, 2026 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Clinical and Molecular Features of Oral Premalignancy and Oral Cancer Associated With Tumor Initiation, Aggressive Behavior, Treatment Response, and Survival Outcomes

Investigators will employ serial assessments of tissue biopsy and additional biomarkers that reflect burden of disease and predict treatment response. Patients enrolled on this study will be given the option to provide biological samples before, during, and after treatment, as well as functional outcomes of treatment response. These samples will be utilized to develop and validate prognostic and predictive biomarkers for patients undergoing targeted therapy, immunotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

Primary objectives: Current primary objectives need revision as they focus on diabetes which is not the focus of this study.

  • Investigators will examine the role of clinical, environmental, and genetic factors in increasing the risk of developing oral cancers and aggressive oral cancers.
  • To identify important environmental and clinical factors contributing to the risk of developing oral cancer or cancer progression
  • To identify genetic and molecular factors which contribute to increased risk of developing oral cancers through analysis of germline and somatic genetic alterations
  • Investigators will identify clinical and molecular predictors of diagnosis, treatment response, toxicity, and outcomes in patients with oral tumors.
  • To identify and validate clinical and molecular prognostic markers that may predict a patient's response to treatment
  • To identify and validate clinical and molecular prognostic markers that may predict a patient's risk of developing toxicity related to various modalities of treatment including but not limited to: targeted therapy, chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and immunotherapy
  • To identify and validate clinical and molecular prognostic markers that may predict a patient's prognosis
  • To determine whether clinical and treatment factors influence patients' quality of life as assessed by validated self-report instruments routinely incorporated into clinical care pathways
  • To identify and validate molecular markers that may improve the diagnosis of oral premalignant or malignant tumors
  • To characterize acute and long-term function and quality of life after curative treatment(s)

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.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
1000

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 Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Description

  • Aged 18 or older, with a diagnosis of oral premalignant or malignant tumors (eligible diagnoses listed below) or presenting with suspected premalignant or malignant tumors for definitive diagnosis
  • Must be able to provide informed consent
  • Oral premalignant or malignant tumors presenting for evaluation for the first time at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Oral premalignant or malignant tumors who were previously treated or evaluated at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center who presents for evaluation of progressive or recurrent disease. Newly collected biospecimens and tissue samples will be linked to applicable samples previously collected and banked/stored under PA17-0050, LAB02-427, Lab02-039 and Lab08-0848.

Eligible diagnoses include:

  • Leukoplakia
  • Erythroplakia
  • Mild dysplasia
  • Moderate dysplasia
  • Severe dysplasia
  • Carcinoma in situ
  • Squamous cell carcinoma

Exclusion:

- Pregnant women and/or cognitively-impaired adults are excluded from this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Prior oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) surgery or OSCC radiation treatment at a non-MDA institution.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Clinical and molecular features of oral premalignancy and oral cancer
Behavioral: Radiation
Standard of care
Other Names:
  • Chemotherapy

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
MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for Head and Neck Cancer (MDASI-HN)
Time Frame: up to 5 years
The MDASI-HN is a patient-reported outcome questionnaire designed to measure the severity or burden of systemic and head- and neck-specific symptoms and their interference with or effect on patients' daily functioning (Rosenthal, Mendoza et al. 2007, Cleeland 2016). This 28-item multi-symptom inventory is rated according to the last 24 hours at their worst, with 0 being symptoms not present and 10 being as bad as the patient can imagine. Cronbach alpha reliability ranges from 0.72 to 0.92.
up to 5 years

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
M.D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI)
Time Frame: up to 5 years
The M.D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) is a written questionnaire to evaluate dysphagia-specific QOL in head and neck cancer patients (Chen, Frankowski et al. 2001). Dysphagia (swallowing difficulty) is a top priority of HNC survivors and a driver of QOL after treatment. The 20-item MDADI questionnaire quantifies an individual's global, physical, emotional, and functional perceptions of his or her swallowing ability. In an internal validation in 100 patients with HNC, concurrent validity was found to be moderate by comparison with the Performance Status Scale (Spearman correlation, 0.47-0.61). Correlation with the physical functional subscale (Spearman correlation, 0.40) and emotional subscale of SF-36 (Spearman correlation, 0.36) demonstrated convergent and divergent validity, respectively, of the MDADI. Test-retest reliability (physical, 0.86; emotional, 0.88; functional, 0.88) and international consistency reliability (overall Cronbach's alpha, 0.96) were sound.
up to 5 years

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.
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

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.

Helpful Links

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)

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.
October 31, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 31, 2064

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 31, 2066

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).
August 1, 2024

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.
August 9, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

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.
August 12, 2024

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.
April 16, 2026

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.
April 13, 2026

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.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 2024-0307
  • NCI-2024-06602 (Other Identifier: NIH-NCI)

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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