An Investigator-Initiated,Multicenter,Randomized,Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Design Study to Assess the Effectiveness of CeviMeline to Improve OraL Health in Patients With XErostomia Secondary to Radiation Therapy for Treatment of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Treatment of advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) requires aggressive
therapy often combining surgical interventions with radiation therapy. Besides surveillance
for persistent or recurrent cancer, clinicians seek to help minimize the side effects
resulting from these aggressive treatments. Xerostomia, or "dry mouth", impacts each
patient's long term health and quality of life due to the significant and diverse health
consequences of having too little saliva. Normal swallowing, speaking, resistance to
infection, and taste acuity are health domains that are affected by dry mouth. Psycho-social
functioning decreases for many of these patients due to the extra effort to communicate and
socialize (Locker D 2004).
Xerostomia is often a consequence of radiation treatment (XRT), especially when the XRT
fields encompass the parotid glands and submandibular glands bilaterally. The disability and
consequences of xerostomia extend beyond dysphagia, poor appetite secondary to difficulty of
mastication, and loss of taste (Chambers et al. Xerostomia 2004). Since saliva is essential
to normal oral flora and healthy teeth, the lack of saliva in these patients can
dramatically and rapidly result in a decline of the patient's oral health. Dental
complications can occur and present significant ongoing medical and surgical problems.
Our study proposes to use the Oral Health Impact Profile, OHIP-49, to measure
disease-specific quality of life and functional outcomes due to radiation related xerostomia
in head and neck cancer patients. The evaluation of patient QOL concomitantly with patient
functioning as proposed in the SMILE protocol is an "evidence study to evaluate treatment
effectiveness". The use of patient-oriented outcome measures are increasingly important to
health insurers and government, but these measures are also aligned with the World Health
Organization's mandate that health is a resource to manage which must be utilized and
preserved so that individuals experience and gain satisfaction from living (Epstein J.1986).
The OHIP-49 is patient reported outcome measure which is publicly available, validated in
adult populations world-wide, and can be used an effectiveness measure. The questions are
easy to answer and are based upon a 5 level likert type scale reflecting frequency of
"bother" within individual psychosocial domains.
Interventional
Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double-Blind, Primary Purpose: Treatment
To assess the impact of increased salivary flow due to treatment with cevimeline compared to placebo in patient reported oral health using the OHIP-49
David Witsell, MD
Principal Investigator
Duke University
United States: Institutional Review Board
AAO-101
NCT00466388
May 2007
November 2008
Name | Location |
---|---|
Carle Clinic Association | Urbana, Illinois 61801 |
University of Kansas Medical Center | Kansas City, Kansas 66160-7353 |
University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261 |
Associated Otolaryngologist | Palmyra, Pennsylvania 17078 |
Denver, Colorado | |
Commonwealth Ear, Nose and Throat | Louisville, Kentucky 40207 |
Fauquier ENT Consultants | Warrenton, Virginia 20186 |