Feasibility of Early Swallowing and Speech Intervention for Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated SURGically

Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Behavioral
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
SUMMARY

Oral cavity cancer (OCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, with tongue cancer being one of the most common subtypes. Patients with oral cancers can experience painful swallowing, swallowing difficulty (dysphagia), and associated weight loss long after surgery. Not only is dysphagia an independent predictor of quality of life (QoL) in cancer survivorship, it can also have a devastating impact on the health of patients resulting from complications such as pneumonia, malnutrition and feeding tube dependence. Emerging evidence suggests that patients undergoing surgery benefit from engaging with speech-language pathologists (SLPs) before problems arise, to learn swallow strategies that may become useful in their rehabilitation. This in turn has the potential to reduce complications and minimize the length of feeding tube dependency. This study will assess the feasibility of conducting a prospective clinical trial that would evaluate the effects on patient health, function and overall benefit of early and systematic SLP speech and swallowing intervention for head and neck cancer patients planned for curative surgical treatment. We will also assess long-term changes in select clinical and patient-reported outcomes comparing their status before, and one month after, treatment.

Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 18
Healthy Volunteers: f
View:

• Newly diagnosed patients with at least T2 stage tongue SCC who are planned for partial glossectomy and free flap reconstruction and are anticipated to achieve a post-operative independent oral intake.

• Proficient in spoken and written English

Locations
Other Locations
Canada
University Health Network
RECRUITING
Toronto
Contact Information
Primary
Trixie Reichardt, MHSc
trixie.reichardt@uhnresearch.ca
416-946-3826
Time Frame
Start Date: 2023-12-01
Estimated Completion Date: 2025-12-31
Participants
Target number of participants: 40
Treatments
Active_comparator: Arm 1 - Control
Participants in this Arm will receive the current standard of care, which includes a referral to SLP in response to suspicion of a swallowing problem from either assessment by the medical team and/or patient report.
Experimental: Arm 2 - Intervention
Participants in this Arm will receive the ESSI-SURG behavioural intervention by a live SLP.
Related Therapeutic Areas
Sponsors
Leads: University Health Network, Toronto

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov