Tongue-out Radiation Therapy (TORT) for the Mitigation of Radiotherapy-related Toxicities in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Head and Neck Carcinoma

In brief

Our institution recently began incorporating a novel "tongue-out" radiation therapy (TORT) technique for patients with head and neck tumors at particular subsites (oropharynx, larynx, hypopharynx). Protruding the tongue, i.e. "tongue-out" position, induces anatomical changes that facilitate decreased radiation dose to the oral tongue and PCM. The long-term goal is to determine whether TORT results in reduced severity and faster recovery from acute treatment-related toxicities (particularly mucositis, dysphagia, and dysgeusia) and improved long-term swallowing function and taste compared to traditional "tongue-in" RT for patients with HNC.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07227792

Run by

Yvonne Mowery

People needed

35

Starts

2025-11-23

Expected to finish

2029-01-31

Last updated by the study team

2025-12-17

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Must have histologically or cytologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, larynx, or hypopharynx (cT0-4, N0-3, M0-1).
• Patients with metastatic disease will be included if the following criteria are met:
• Definitive RT dose is planned for the primary site
• The number of metastatic lesions is ≤5
• All metastatic lesions are confined to a single organ (e.g., lung)
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) ≤ 2
• Female subjects of childbearing potential must not be pregnant or breastfeeding at screening.
• Female subjects are considered to be of childbearing potential unless one of the following criteria is met:
• o Permanent sterilization (hysterectomy, bilateral salpingectomy, or bilateral oophorectomy) or documented postmenopausal status (defined as 12 months of amenorrhea in a woman > 45 years-of-age in the absence of other biological or physiological causes. Note: Documentation may include review of medical records, medical examination, or medical history interview by study site staff.
• Female subjects of childbearing potential must utilize an appropriate method of birth control such as hormonal methods (oral, injectable, implant, skin patch, vaginal ring), intrauterine devices, barrier methods (consistent use of male/female condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps), surgical methods (vasectomy, tubal ligation), or true abstinence.
• Must be able to comfortably protrude tongue in the treatment position for at least 1 minute.
• Must have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.
• Must be willing to comply with all study procedures.
• Must be able to complete patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires in English.

You may not qualify if…

• Patients with T1-T2 N0 glottic cancer (i.e., planned to undergo RT to the larynx only)
• Posterior pharyngeal wall primary tumor
• Widely metastatic disease
• Surgical resection of the primary tumor
• Induction chemotherapy or immunotherapy prior to planned radiotherapy
• Prior head and neck radiotherapy

Where it is running

• UPMC Hillman Cancer Center — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.