A Phase 2 interventional study of Placebo and Atorvastatin in Hearing Loss and Head and Neck Cancer, sponsored by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Recruiting at 5 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 100 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-02.
Sponsored by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment
Background:
Cisplatin is used to treat head and neck cancer. People who take this drug are at risk for hearing loss. Atorvastatin is a drug used to treat high cholesterol. It might reduce the risk of cisplatin-induced hearing loss.
Objective:
To find out if atorvastatin reduces hearing loss in people treated with cisplatin and radiation.
Eligibility:
People ages 18 and older with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who will undergo treatment with cisplatin-based chemotherapy and radiation
Design:
Participants will be screened with their medical records.
Participants currently taking a cholesterol-lowering statin medication are invited to participate in the observational arm of the study. Those not taking such a medication are invited to participate in the interventional arm of the study.
All participants will have 3 study visits for the purpose of evaluating hearing. One before starting cisplatin treatment, one within 3 months of completing cancer treatment, and one within 2 years of completing cancer treatment. They will have tympanograms. A small flexible tip will be placed in the ear canal. A puff of air will be delivered to assess mobility of the ear drum. They will have hearing tests. They will wear headphones. They will listen to tones that vary in loudness. They will be asked to indicate when they hear a sound. They will complete 3 questionnaires at the time of each hearing test.
Participants will have 2 visits for blood tests. These will occur upon consent and 12 weeks after. They will be randomly assigned to take the study drug or placebo orally, once daily. They will take it during cisplatin treatment and for 3 months after treatment.
Long-term follow up will include a chart review 2 years after participants complete their cisplatin therapy.
Study Description: Individuals undergoing cisplatin-based chemotherapy are at risk for developing significant, permanent hearing loss. The cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin has the potential to reduce the incidence and severity of hearing loss, as evidenced by our preclinical data in mice and our retrospective data in humans. Here we will compare hearing changes between subjects on a concurrent 40 mg daily dose of atorvastatin vs. a placebo among individuals undergoing cisplatin-based chemotherapy to treat head and neck cancer.
Objectives:
Primary Objective: To determine the effectiveness of atorvastatin (40 mg) in subjects treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) at reducing moderate changes in hearing sensitivity relative to baseline, as defined by CTCAEv5.0 Grade>=2 criteria.
Secondary Objectives:
Endpoints:
Primary Endpoint: The incidence of hearing loss at 12 +/-4 weeks after completion of cisplatin-based chemotherapy). Hearing loss will be defined according to CTCAEv5.0 Grade >=2 criteria based on changes in sensitivity relative to baseline, in at least one ear, across 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 kHz and will be compared in subjects taking atorvastatin (40 mg) vs. subjects taking placebo.
Secondary Endpoints:
796 studies on the registry are indexed under Hearing Loss; 193 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 224 is above the median of 44 across 561 interventional studies indexed under Hearing Loss.
Browse Hearing Loss studies →National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) is the lead sponsor of 37 studies on the registry; 7 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria evaluated by the study team, including an on-site oncologist:
least one ear with one ototoxicity event/grade assigned per person.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.
Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.
Neoadjuvant treatment is given before the main treatment (usually surgery), often to shrink a tumour. Adjuvant treatment is given after it, to lower the chance of the cancer coming back.
The US National Cancer Institute’s scale of how severe an adverse event is — any unwanted medical event during a study, such as a symptom, an illness or an abnormal test result, whether or not a treatment caused it. Whether it did is judged separately.
“Side effects of earlier treatment resolved to grade 1 or less” means they have settled to mild or gone.
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
Able to have children. For women this usually means from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery; for men, unless permanently sterile. Read who the line is about — participants, women, men, or their partners.
Criteria about it usually ask for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Biopsy and archival tissue
A biopsy takes a small piece of tissue to examine. “Archival tissue” is a sample already taken, for example at diagnosis, and kept by the hospital.
Whether a stored sample will do depends on when it was taken, how much there is and what the study needs. Ask whether the study accepts your stored sample or needs a new biopsy.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Adjuvant and neoadjuvant
Neoadjuvant treatment is given before the main treatment (usually surgery), often to shrink a tumour. Adjuvant treatment is given after it, to lower the chance of the cancer coming back.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
CTCAE grade
The US National Cancer Institute’s scale of how severe an adverse event is — any unwanted medical event during a study, such as a symptom, an illness or an abnormal test result, whether or not a treatment caused it. Whether it did is judged separately.
“Side effects of earlier treatment resolved to grade 1 or less” means they have settled to mild or gone.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ULN (upper limit of normal)
The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.
“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
ALT and AST (liver enzymes)
Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.
Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Reproductive potential
Able to have children. For women this usually means from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery; for men, unless permanently sterile. Read who the line is about — participants, women, men, or their partners.
Criteria about it usually ask for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Atorvasatatin (40 mg)
Drug: Atorvastatin
Placebo
Other: Placebo
Placebo will be formulated to also contain a white powder such that the atorvastatin and placebo are indistinguishable even if a capsule is opened.
Subjects will be provided with atorvastatin (40 mg) or placebo to be taken daily by mouth or by feeding tube. The tablets may be taken whole or crushed according to patient swallowing capabilities and preference.
To determine the effectiveness of atorvastatin (20 mg) at reducing the incidence and severity of cisplatin-induced hearing loss in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
The primary endpoint is the change in hearing sensitivity (as measured by pure-tone audiometry) between the pre-treatment (before cisplatin therapy) hearing test and the post-treatment (after completion of cisplatin therapy) audiogram. Hearing loss will be defined according to CTCAE criteria and will be compared in subjects taking atorvastatin vs. subjects not taking any statin drug. Hearing sensitivity will be compared between audiograms collected at baseline (prior to treatment) to a repeated audiogram at the end of treatment (within 2-4 months of cessation of cisplatin administration).
Time frame: Baseline (prior to treatment) to a repeated audiogram at the end of treatment (within 2-4 months of cessation of cisplatin administration).
To examine the extent to which atorvastatin 40 mg alters overall survival and disease-free survival.
It is important to confirm that atorvastatin use does not reduce overall response, survival or disease- free survival in subjects with HNSCC. To date, only two retrospective studies have compared survival in HNSCC subjects taking statins.
Time frame: The overall survival and disease-free survival will be assessed at 3 months, 1 and 2 years after cisplatin-based CRT. Overall complete clinical response, comparing subjects taking atorvastatin (40 mg) vs those taking placebo.
To compare the incidence of grade (Bullet)3 AEs through 4 weeks after CRT with atorvastatin versus placebo.
It is important to confirm that atorvastatin does not increase the overall toxicity associated with CRT.
Time frame: Another secondary endpoint will be the incidence of grade (Bullet)3 AEs, which are expected to occur with CRT but rarely with atorvastatin.
To determine the effectiveness of atorvastatin (40 mg) at reducing changes in hearing sensitivity relative to baseline, as defined by ASHA criteria, in subjects treated with cisplatin- based CRT for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
The American Speech-Langauge-Hearing Association (ASHA) ototoxicity criteria can be used for early detection based on changes in hearing sensitivity in extended high frequencies (\>8 kHz). While ASHA does not assign grades to indicate severity, it may provide early diagnosis of hearing loss that has not yet spread to speech-related frequency regions of the cochlea (\<8 kHz).
Time frame: The incidence of hearing loss at 12 4 weeks after completion of cisplatin-based CRT. Hearing loss will be defined according to ASHA criteria, comparing subjects taking atorvastatin (40 mg) vs. placebo.
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Studies of the drug tested here: Atorvastatin
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