Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine if RRx-001, which is added on to the cisplatin and radiation treatment, reduces the incidence of severe oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancers. All patients in this study will receive 7 weeks of standard of care radiation therapy given with the chemotherapy agent, cisplatin. Patients will receive RRx-001 or placebo before start of standard of care treatment.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  1. Pathologically confirmed diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral cavity or oropharynx Note: Patients with primary cancers that are presumed to be of oropharyngeal origin may be included if they meet radiation field dosing criteria as specified in Inclusion Criterion #2 below. Unknown primaries which are HPV+ are acceptable. HPV determination must be made for all patients. 2. Radiation Treatment planned to receive standard IMRT with daily fractions of 2.0 to 2.2 Gy for a total cumulative dose of 60-72 Gy in conjunction with definitive or adjuvant chemotherapy. Planned radiation treatment fields must include at least two oral sites (soft palate, floor of mouth, buccal mucosa, tongue) that are each planned to receive a total of > 55 Gy. Patients who have had prior surgery are eligible, provided they have fully recovered from surgery, and patients who may have surgery in the future are eligible. 3. ECOG performance status ≤ 2. 4. Participants must have adequate organ and marrow function as defined below: • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1,500 / mm3 2. Platelets ≥ 75,000 / mm3 3. Hemoglobin ≥ 9.0 g/dL 5. Adequate renal and liver function as indicated by: • Serum creatinine acceptable for treatment with cisplatin per institutional guidelines) 2. Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 x upper-normal limit (ULN) 3. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 3.0 x ULN 4. Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2.5 x ULN 6. Human papilloma virus (HPV) status in tumor must be documented using tumor immunohistochemistry for HPV-p16 or other accepted test (such as such as in situ hybridization) for patients with cancers of the oropharynx (Rooper et al, 2016, Martens 2017). HPV status at baseline optional for oral cavity tumors. 7. Age 18 years or older 8. Patient must consent to the access, review, and analysis of previous medical and cancer history, including imaging data, by the sponsor or a third party nominated by the sponsor. 9. Ability and willingness to understand and sign a written informed consent document. 10. Women of childbearing potential and men with partners of child-bearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control) prior to study entry, for the duration of study participation, and for 90 days following completion of therapy. Note: A woman of child-bearing potential is any female (regardless of sexual orientation, having undergone a tubal ligation, or remaining celibate by choice) who meets the following criteria: - Has not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy; or - Has not been postmenopausal for at least 12 consecutive months 11. Adequate visual access to permit examination of the following oral cavity sites: lips, buccal mucosa, floor of mouth, ventral and lateral tongue, and soft palate.

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Prior radiotherapy to the head and neck region. 2. Prior induction chemotherapy. 3. Tumors of the lips, salivary gland, nasopharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx. 4. Patients with simultaneous primaries 5. Stage IV, M1 (distant metastasis) 6. Prior or current use of approved or investigational anticancer agent other than those provided in this study. 7. Grade 3 or 4 dysphagia or odynophagia (National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria, version 5.0) or inability to eat a normal (solid) diet 8. Requirement at baseline for parenteral or gastrointestinal tube-delivered nutrition for any reason or prophylactic insertion of gastrostomy tube with dependency on tube feeding at baseline. 9. Malignant tumors other than squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck within last 5 years, unless treated definitively and with low risk of recurrence in the judgment of the treating investigator. 10. Active infectious disease excluding oral candidiasis. 11. Presence of oral mucositis (WHO Score ≥ Grade 1) or other oral mucosal ulceration at baseline. 12. Untreated active oral or dental infection 13. Known history of human immunodeficiency virus or active hepatitis B or C. 14. Any significant medical diseases or conditions, as assessed by the investigators and sponsor that would substantially increase the medical risks of participating in this study (e.g, immunosuppression, uncontrolled diabetes, NYHA II-IV congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction within 6 months of study, severe chronic pulmonary disease or active uncontrolled infection, uncontrolled or clinically relevant pulmonary edema) 15. Use of the following within 48 hours of enrollment and duration of Oral Mucositis follow up: vitamin B12 (cobalamin) or synthetic vitamin B12, cyanocobalamin, or the vitamin B12 precursor, cobinamide, or any supplement or multivitamin with vitamin B12 or vitamin E in it since both vitamin B12 and vitamin E interact negatively with RRx-001. 16. Use of prebiotics and probiotics 17. Pregnant or nursing. 18. Known allergies or intolerance to cisplatin or other platinum-containing compounds. 19. Sjogren syndrome

Study Design

Phase
Phase 2
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
RRx-001 Pre-Treatment (8mg RRx-001) + Chemoradiation Therapy (CRT)
Pretreatment consists of 8 mg RRx-001 given twice weekly during the 2 weeks prior to the start of CRT (4 doses total) followed by the CRT treatment period
  • Drug: RRx-001
    RRx-001 for injection (4 mg or 8 mg)
  • Radiation: Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
    Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy of up to 72 Gy
  • Drug: Cisplatin for injection 100 mg/m2
    Cisplatin for injection 100 mg/m2
Experimental
RRx-001 Pre-Treatment (4mg RRx-001) + Chemoradiation Therapy (CRT)
Pretreatment consists of 4 mg RRx-001 given twice weekly during the 2 weeks prior to the start of CRT (4 doses total) followed by the CRT treatment period.
  • Drug: RRx-001
    RRx-001 for injection (4 mg or 8 mg)
  • Radiation: Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
    Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy of up to 72 Gy
  • Drug: Cisplatin for injection 100 mg/m2
    Cisplatin for injection 100 mg/m2
Placebo Comparator
Placebo Pre-Treatment + Chemoradiation Therapy (CRT)
No doses of RRx-001 will be administered. Patients assigned to this arm will receive placebo twice weekly during the 2 weeks prior to the start of CRT followed by the CRT treatment period.
  • Radiation: Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
    Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy of up to 72 Gy
  • Drug: Cisplatin for injection 100 mg/m2
    Cisplatin for injection 100 mg/m2

Recruiting Locations

Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center
Gilbert, Arizona 85234
Contact:
Erin Nicoson
480-256-5484
erin.nicoson@bannerhealth.com

The University of Arizona Cancer Center
Tucson, Arizona 85719
Contact:
Alana Sudkamp
520-694-4377
alanamsudkamp@arizona.edu

Miami Cancer Institute
Miami, Florida 33176
Contact:
Amy Starosciak
786-596-2000
amyst@baptisthealth.net

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Contact:
312-695-0990
cancer@northwestern.edu

Parkview Cancer Institute
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46845
Contact:
Brian Chang, MD
833-724-8326
brian.chang2@parkview.com

Willis Knighton Cancer Center
Shreveport, Louisiana 71103
Contact:
Briana Barrow
318-212-8671
bbarrow@wkhs.com

Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute
Baltimore, Maryland 21204
Contact:
Laura Morse Cucci
lmorsecucci@gbmc.org

University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Contact:
Brandy Slusser
slusserb@med.umich.edu

Renown Regional Medical Center
Reno, Nevada 89502
Contact:
775-982-5050
renown-crd@renown.org

East Carolina University School of Medicine
Greenville, North Carolina 27834
Contact:
Kristin Wooten
252-744-3617
wootenk16@ecu.edu

The Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute
Columbus, Ohio 43210
Contact:
Harley Hamilton
614-685-6493
Harley.Hamilton@osumc.edu

Ballad Health
Johnson City, Tennessee 37604
Contact:
Charles Mays, III, PhD
423-431-5654
Charles.Mays@balladhealth.org

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas 75390
Contact:
Sarah Neufeld
214-648-1836
Sarah.Hardee@UTSouthwestern.edu

University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22908
Contact:
Rachael Zhang
434-982-1901
rlz4fp@uvahealth.org

More Details

NCT ID
NCT05966194
Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
EpicentRx, Inc.

Study Contact

Scott Caroen
8589476635
scaroen@epicentrx.com

Detailed Description

The standard treatment for head and neck cancer currently includes a chemotherapy drug called cisplatin that is given by intravenous (IV) infusion and radiation, which is delivered from a machine that precisely targets the tumor. One common and unfortunate side effect of treatment with cisplatin and radiation is oral mucositis, which refers to irritation of the lining of the mouth. Oral mucositis is a serious problem 1) because the open mouth sores from oral mucositis may lead to severe pain, nutritional problems and dehydration from an inability to eat and drink, an increased risk of infection from bacteria and fungus and delay or discontinuation of treatment and 2) because there is only one approved therapy to treat or prevent it.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.