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CompletedNCT02178072Updated Feb 15, 2022

Window Trial 5-aza in HNSCC, T-tare

A Phase 1 interventional study of 5-Azacitadine in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, sponsored by Yale University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 99 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-02-15.

Sponsored by Yale University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
18
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 99 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the activity of 5-azacitidine in patients with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)-positive and HPV- negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The response activity will be determined by analyzing your tumor tissue prior to and after treatment with 5-azacitidine. Preliminary studies in mice bearing human head and neck cancers or head and neck cancer cells cultured in laboratories suggest that treatment with 5-azacitidine increases changes in cancer cells that lead to their death. This study is designed to determine if similar changes occur in cancer cells of patients with head and neck cancer.

The study also aims to determine the amount of a specific type of protein, p53 before and after treatment. Research has shown that the p53 protein is associated with anti-tumor activity.

Finally, this study is measuring the amount of a specific type of protein called interferon in your tumor tissue. Interferons are proteins made and released by the body in response to pathogens (disease causing agents) such as viruses, bacteria, or tumor cells. Interferons allow for communication between cells to trigger the protective defenses of the immune system that remove pathogens (disease causing agents) or tumors.

Read the detailed description

Primary Objectives:

The primary objectives of this study are:

  • to determine the proportion of HPV-positive patients in whom 5-azacytidine increases APOBEC RNA expression.

Secondary Objectives

The secondary objectives of this study are:

  • to investigate response (proliferation, apoptosis), as well as reactivation of IFN pathways in patients treated with 5-azacitadine for HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC.
  • to investigate the clinical activity of 5-azacitadine in patients with HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC.
  • to investigate the safety of 5-azacitadine in patients with HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC
02

Conditions studied

  • Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Keywords

  • HNSCC
03

In context

Carcinoma

6,741 studies on the registry are indexed under Carcinoma; 1,161 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 18 is below the median of 45 across 5,170 interventional studies indexed under Carcinoma.

Browse Carcinoma studies →

Lead sponsor

Yale University is the lead sponsor of 1,724 studies on the registry; 298 are open to participants now.

Of its 210 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 126 (60%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 99 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Histologically confirmed p16 or HPV PCR positive HNSCC with surgically resectable disease
  2. Age ≥18 years of age.
  3. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status score of 0, 1 or 2
  4. ANC greater than or equal to 1500, Hb greater than or equal to 8, platelet count greater than or equal to 100,000

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. AST or ALT greater than 2.5 x ULN
  2. Known brain metastases
  3. Women must not be pregnant or breastfeeding
  4. Known allergy to 5-azacitadine
  5. Patients receiving any other investigational agents within 4 weeks of starting the study
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
18 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Other
    HPV positive

    HPV positive patients

    Drug: 5-Azacitadine

  • Other
    HPV negative

    HPV negative patients

    Drug: 5-Azacitadine

Interventions

  • Drug5-Azacitadine

    Also known as: Vidaza

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. tumor response

    The post-treatment biopsy will occur the day after the last injection of 5-azacytidine. 5-aza is currently FDA-approved and used for therapy of myelodysplastic syndrome. Pre- and post- 5-aza treatment tissue will be analyzed for proliferation (IHC-Ki-67), apoptosis (IHC-cleaved caspase-3, cleaved PARP-1), and for p53 protein (IHC, immunoblots), as well as p53, CDKN1A, MDM2, IFITs, and CCL5 mRNA levels (as described above). The primary outcome is the change from baseline of the p53 protein level in post-treatment vs. pre-treatment biopsies. Although tumor response may not be expected due to the short treatment course, the post-treatment vs. pre-treatment change from baseline of the gross tumor measurements will be used to measure tumor response.

    Time frame: 6 months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Hospital
    New Haven, Connecticut 06510, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 15, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02178072
Lead sponsor
Yale University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 30, 2014
Start date
Feb 19, 2015
Primary completion
Oct 23, 2019
Completion
Oct 23, 2019
Last update
Feb 15, 2022

Study contacts

Barbara Burtness, MD
principal investigator · Yale University School of Medicine, Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Hospital, Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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