Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip and Oral Cavity, Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx, Recurrent Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity, Stage II Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip and Oral Cavity, Stage II Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx, Stage II Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity, Stage I Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip and Oral Cavity, Stage I Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx, Stage I Verrucous Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity, Tongue Cancer
Conditions
Brief summary
This pilot clinical trial studies photodynamic therapy using temoporfin before surgery in treating patients with recurrent oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer. Photodynamic therapy uses a drug, such as temoporfin, that is absorbed by tumor cells. The drug becomes active when it is exposed to light. When the drug is active, tumor cells are killed. Giving photodynamic therapy using temoporfin before surgery may make the tumor smaller and reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed.
Detailed description
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess the toxicity of dose regimen using the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) National Cancer Institute (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE version 4.0). SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Quantify the relationship between the measured intra-tumor light dose and the pathological tumor response. TERTIARY OBJECTIVES: I. Simulate light dose distribution within the treated tumor. II. Immune markers. OUTLINE: Patients receive temoporfin intravenously (IV) over at least 6 minutes on day 1 and undergo interstitial photodynamic therapy on day 3. Within 4-6 weeks, patients undergo surgical resection. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed for 3 years.
Interventions
DRUGphotodynamic therapy
Undergo interstitial photodynamic therapy using temoporfin
PROCEDUREtherapeutic conventional surgery
Undergo surgical resection
OTHERlaboratory biomarker analysis
Correlative studies
DRUGtemoporfin
Undergo interstitial photodynamic therapy using temoporfin
Sponsors
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Biolitec Pharma Ltd.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of =\< 2 * Histologically confirmed recurrent or T2/T3/T4 squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx or oral cavity that are amenable to surgery * Tumor accessible for unrestricted illumination for interstitial photodynamic therapy (PDT) (accessibility as determined by the physician) * Life expectancy of at least 6 months in the judgment of the physician * Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) =\< upper limit of normal (ULN) * White blood count \> 3,000 per microliter or * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \> 1500 per microliter * Serum calcium within normal limits; note: serum calcium will be corrected for low albumin, if necessary * Subjects of child-bearing potential must agree to use adequate contraceptive methods (e.g., 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 she or her partner is participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately * Subject or legal representative must understand the investigational nature of this study and sign an Institutional Review Board approved written informed consent form prior to receiving any study related procedure
Exclusion criteria
* Subjects who have had radiotherapy within the last 3 months * Subjects with known brain metastases should be excluded from this clinical trial * Tumor invading a major blood vessel (such as the carotid artery) * Tumor invading the skull base * Subjects with ophthalmic disease * Tumor is not clearly shown on an imaging scan/location and extension of tumor that precludes effective PDT, in the judgment of the primary investigator (PI) * Location and extension of the tumor precludes an effective interstitial photodynamic therapy (iPDT) * Patients with known hypersensitivity to porphyrins or with porphyria * Has distant metastasis that decreases life expectancy to less than 6 months * 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 * Pregnant or nursing female subjects * Unwilling or unable to follow protocol requirements and the light exposure precautions * Any condition which in the investigator's opinion deems the subject an unsuitable candidate to receive study drug
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency of adverse events, graded according to NCI CTCAE version 4.0 | Up to 30 days after surgical resection | The frequency of toxicities will be tabulated by grade. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Light dose-volume histograms (DVH), defined as the overall light dose (joules) that was delivered to the tumor volume throughout the therapy with the light dosimetry system | Day 3 | — |
| Ratio of the viable/nonviable tissue in the resected tumor, ex vivo | Up to 6 weeks | The area of viable and necrotic tumor will be measured by the number of field of view (1 FOV = 0.196 mm\^2), microscopic area using a 40x objective. |
Outcome results
None listed