Clinical Trial: Patient Selection for Hypoxia Modifying Treatments in Larynx Carcinomas

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Observational

Official Title: Patient Selection for Hypoxia Modifying Treatments Based on Functional Microregional Imaging of Tumor Vasculature, Oxygenation and Proliferation in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to identify in a prospective manner microregional profiles of oxygenation and proliferation based on exogenous and endogenous markers that are predictive for outcome of radiotherapy in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx and to investigate if these profiles can identify patients that are most likely to benefit from hypoxia modifying treatment strategies like ARCON (Accelerated radiotherapy combined with carbogen breathing and nicotinamide).

Detailed Summary:

Purpose

Prognostic indicators discriminate patients with good and bad prognosis. Predictive assays are tools that select patients for specific treatments or treatment modifications such that outcome will be improved relative to conventional treatment. In oncology, many prognostic indicators based on clinical or biological tumor characteristics have been described but only very few have proven to be useful as predictive assays. We have developed an imaging modality for coregistration of tumor oxygenation and proliferation at the microregional level with preservation of the tumor anatomy and the microenvironmental structure. We have strong indications that this functional imaging can be a powerful tool for identifying those patients that will profit from hypoxia modifying treatments.

Tumor oxygenation and proliferation are recognized as important determinants of the outcome of radiotherapy and possibly also of other treatment modalities in a number of tumor types and in particular in squamous cell carcinomas. Various exogenous and endogenous markers for hypoxia and proliferation are currently available which can be studied in relation to each other, the tumor architecture and the tumor microenvironment using immunohistochemistry and advanced image analysis techniques.

The purpose of this project is to identify microregional profiles of oxygenation and proliferation based on exogenous and endogenous markers that:

  1. Are predictive for outcome of radiotherapy in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.

  2. Can identify the patients that are most likely to benefit from hypoxia modifying treatment strategies.