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RecruitingNCT06737822SurVICUpdated Mar 4, 2025

Upfront Surgery Vs Induction Chemotherapy Followed By Surgery In Oral Cancers:

A Phase 3 interventional study of TPF or TPX Regimen (2# ICT) --> Surgery and Adjuvant Treatment and Surgery and Adjuvant Treatment in Oral Cancer and Head and Neck Neoplasms, sponsored by All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur. Recruiting at 7 sites in India. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-03-04.

Sponsored by All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Dec 2024; still recruiting 1 year 10 months later.
Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
346
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

A majority of oral cancer patients in India present in the advanced stage hence tend to have poor oncological outcomes. Chemotherapy has been associated with improved oncological outcomes in various cancers but its role in oral cancer is not well defined in curative setting apart from radio sensitization. Attempted trials of neoadjuvant chemotherapy failed to show oncological advantage despite an excellent response rate, in part due to poor patient selection. Patients with a biologically aggressive disease are more likely to benefit, hence we intend to find out the oncological advantage of adding induction chemotherapy to oral squamous cell cancer with advanced nodal disease (N2-N3).

Earlier studies suffered from their heterogeneous patient population- all head and neck subsites together and included a spectrum ranging from early- stage operable cases to inoperable cancer. Due to such patient selection, the intended results were never met. The current study is intended to study the role of chemotherapy in curable patients who are most likely to benefit (biologically aggressive and advanced stage of presentation).

Objective

Primary:

To study the 2 year disease free survival by adding induction chemotherapy before surgery in patients of oral cancer with advanced nodal disease as compared to upfront surgery.

Secondary:

To assess treatment related outcomes between the treatment arms- Response rate; Treatment compliance; treatment related toxicity, postoperative complications and Quality of life.

To study the overall survival at 2 years. Oral cancer tissue biobanking for future translational research.

Study population Operable Oral cavity Squamous cell carcinoma with advanced nodal disease (N2-N3) Study Design Open label, Multi centric, randomized controlled trial with allocation ratio of 1:1

Sample Size The primary end point is disease-free survival. In order to have 80% power to detect a hazard ratio of 0.67, using a two-sided significance level, a total of 184 events are needed. Assuming an accrual rate of 15 patients a month, 300 patients need to be recruited. The analysis of DFS will take place 32 months after the start of the trial. The follow-up of patients will continue for 5 years. The analysis of OS will be conducted when 184 deaths are observed. taking 10% of withdrawal of consent, a total of 346 patients need to be included.

Inclusion Criteria Biopsy proven, operable oral Squamous cell carcinoma cT1-T4; cN2-N3, with adequate organ function, Age- 18-75 years, ECOG-PS:0-2 Treatment Arms

Standard Arm (SURG arm):

Surgery (Wide local Excision/composite resection with neck dissection) followed by adjuvant Radiotherapy ± Concurrent Chemotherapy

Experimental Arm (ICT):

2# TPF or TPX based induction chemotherapy followed by Surgery (Wide local Excision/composite resection with neck dissection) followed by adjuvant Radiotherapy ± Concurrent Chemotherapy

Study endpoints Primary- Disease free survival Secondary- Overall survival/ Quality of life/ Toxicity of treatment/ Treatment tolerance

02

Conditions studied

  • Oral Cancer
  • Head and Neck Neoplasms
03

In context

Mouth Neoplasms

446 studies on the registry are indexed under Mouth Neoplasms; 130 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 346 is above the median of 60 across 313 interventional studies indexed under Mouth Neoplasms.

Browse Mouth Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur is the lead sponsor of 4 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

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.

Inclusion criteria

  • Newly diagnosed, treatment naïve, or cytology proven OSCC
  • Clinical Stage cT1-4a, cN2-N3**, M0- as per UICC 2018
  • No evidence of distant on chest x-ray and/or CT Thorax
  • PS 0-2
  • No to Cisplatin or radiotherapy***
  • Patients eligible for definitive curative intent treatment after discussion in multidisciplinary tumour board
  • Adequate organ function at time of participation, defined as Haematological: > 9gm/dl, ≥ 1500/cmm3, ≥100000/cmm3 Liver Function test: ≤2 x upper limit normal (), /ALT/ ALP ≤ 2.5 x ULN Renal Function test: Creatinine ≤ 1.5 ULN, ≥60 ml/min.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant
  • History of moderate to severe hearing loss.
  • History of previous excluding non-melanoma skin cancers or cervical carcinoma in situ.
  • Documented Weight loss of more than 15% in the last 6 months.
  • Patients with known , or C infection.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(14)

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.

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.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

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.

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.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
346 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Surg Arm

    Wide Local Excision (WLE) with Comprehensive neck dissection Adjuvant Treatment as per current standard Guidelines

    Combination Product: Surgery and Adjuvant Treatment

  • Experimental
    ICT Arm

    2# of Chemotherapy before the Stadrard Surery: Either TPF or TPX Wide Local Excision (WLE) with Comprehensive neck dissection Adjuvant Treatment as per current standard Guidelines

    Combination Product: TPF or TPX Regimen (2# ICT) --> Surgery and Adjuvant Treatment

Interventions

  • Combination productTPF or TPX Regimen (2# ICT) --> Surgery and Adjuvant Treatment

    TPF: IINJ DOCETAXEL 75mg/M2 in 500 ML NORMAL SALINE(PVC free container/glass bottle) via codon filter OVER 60 MIN (DAY 1 ONLY) INJ. CISPLATIN 75 MG/M 2 IN 500 ML NS IV OVER 1 HOUR ON DAY1 ONLY INJ. 5FU 750 MG/M2 IV THROUGH INFUSION PUMP OVER 24 HOURS D 1-4 Or TPX Regimen INJ DOCETAXEL 75mg/M2 in 500 ML NORMAL SALINE(PVC free container/glass bottle) via codon filter OVER 60 MIN (DAY 1 ONLY) INJ. CISPLATIN 75 MG/M 2 IN 500 ML NS IV OVER 1 HOUR ON D1 ONLY TAB. CAPECITABINE 850-1000MG/M2 TWICE A DAY 30 MINUTES AFTER MEALS FOR 14 DAYS IN A THREE WEEKLY CYCLE Surgery and Adjuvant Treatment Patients with PR/CR or SD will go for surgical resection. Patients having PD but still localized and resectable will be offered surgical resection, other would undergo radical CTRT or Palliative Treatment.

  • Combination productSurgery and Adjuvant Treatment

    Wide Local Excision (WLE) with Comprehensive neck dissection and Adjuvant Treatment as per current standard Guidelines.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Disease Free Survival

    Date of randomization to the date of clinical or pathological evidence of recurrence

    Time frame: 2 Years

Secondary outcomes

  1. Overall Survival

    Date of randomization to the date of death due to any reason.

    Time frame: 2 Years

  2. Treatment Completion Rate

    Number of Participants completing the treatment

    Time frame: 2 Years

  3. Treatment Related Toxicity

    Chemotherapy Related and Radiotherapy Related: Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE v5.0)

    Time frame: 2 Years

  4. Quality of Life using PROs

    FACT HN Scale

    Time frame: 3 Months; 6 Months; 12 Months; 18 Months; 24 Months; 36 Months; 48 Months; 60 Months

  5. Postoperative Surgical Morbidity

    Clavien Dindo Scale

    Time frame: 30 Days and 90 Days

  6. Biobanking of Tumor, Non Tumor tissue and Blood

    DNA Sequencing using NGS to assess the genetic alterations

    Time frame: 2 Years

  7. Financial Toxicity using Questionnaire

    FACT Scale

    Time frame: 3 Months; 6 Months; 12 Months; 18 Months; 24 Months; 36 Months; 48 Months; 60 Months

  8. Early Radiotherapy Related Toxicity

    RTOG Criteria

    Time frame: 30 Days

  9. Late Radiotherapy Relate Toxicity

    RTOG Criteria

    Time frame: 2 Years

07

Study locations

1 of 7 sites recruiting
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneshwar
    Bhubaneshwar, Orisa 751019, India
    Not yet recruiting
    • Dillip Mudully · Contact
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur
    Jodhpur, Rajasthan 342005, India
    Recruiting
    • Dharma R Poonia, MS DNB · Contact
    • Dharma R Poonia, MS DNB · Principal investigator
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bathinda
    Bathinda, India
    Not yet recruiting
    • Rohit Mahajan · Contact
  • Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital, Dehradun
    Dehradun, India
    Not yet recruiting
    • Pankaj K Garg · Contact
  • King George's Medical University
    Lucknow, India
    Not yet recruiting
    • Vijay Kumar · Contact
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh
    Rishīkesh, India
    Not yet recruiting
    • Amit Sehrawat · Contact
  • Geetanjali Medical College, Udaipur
    Udaipur, India
    Not yet recruiting
    • Ashish Jhakhetiya · Contact
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 4, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06737822
Lead sponsor
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur
Collaborators
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bathinda, King George's Medical University, Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun, Geetanjali Medical College, Udaipur
Responsible party
Dharma Ram Poonia (Principal Investigator & Associate Professor Surgical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 17, 2024
Start date
Dec 20, 2024
Primary completion
Oct 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 2029 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 4, 2025

Study contacts

Dharma R Poonia, MS DNB
Contact
pooniadr@aiimsjodhpur.edu.in
9958654196
Dharma R Poonia, MS DNB
principal investigator · AIIMS Jodhpur

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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