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Transoral Surgical Resection Followed by De-escalated Adjuvant IMRT in Resectable p16+ Locally Advanced Oropharynx Cancer

  • PhasePhase 2
  • StatusRecruiting
  • Planned enrollment150 people
  • Recruiting US sites1
  • SponsorHeath Skinner
  • RegistryNCT05388773

Recruitment re-checked on ClinicalTrials.gov Oct 30, 2026. Public record; not medical advice.

Transoral Surgical Resection Followed by De-escalated Adjuvant IMRT in Resectable p16+ Locally Advanced Oropharynx Cancer: a one-minute explainerNCT053887731 min

Eligibility

Who can join

The film gives the main points. The full list below is copied from the registry; the study team makes the final decision.

  • Age18 Years to no maximum
  • SexAll
  • Healthy volunteersNo

You may be able to join if

  • ECOG performance status of 0 or 1 or Karnofsky score 80-100.
  • Preference is to register patients prior to surgery. However, if not registered prior to surgery, the patient can be registered prior to adjuvant therapy.
  • Patients must have newly diagnosed, histologically or cytologically confirmed SCC or undifferentiated carcinoma of the oropharynx. Patients must have been determined to have resectable oropharyngeal disease. Patients with primary tumor or nodal metastasis fixed to the carotid artery, skull base or cervical spine are not eligible.
  • Patients must be deemed eligible for a TOS procedure with no evidence of distant metastasis as determined by imaging studies. Metastatic disease may be evaluated using CT or PET/CT where appropriate; this can be performed with or without contrast. The following imaging is acceptable to evaluate the primary and regional disease:
  • CT Neck (with contrast preferred but not required)
  • PET/CT
  • MRI Neck (contrast preferred but not required)
  • Patients must have biopsy-proven p16+ oropharynx cancer; the histologic evidence of invasive squamous cell carcinoma may have been obtained from the primary tumor or metastatic lymph node. It is required that patients have a positive p16 IHC (as surrogate for HPV) status from either the primary tumor or metastatic lymph node.
  • Carcinoma of the oropharynx associated with HPV as determined by p16 protein expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC) performed by a CLIA approved laboratory. Using p16 antibody obtained from Roche mtm laboratories AG (CINtec, clone E6H4) is recommended.
  • No prior radiation above the clavicles.
  • Patients with a history of a curatively treated malignancy must be disease-free for at least two years except for carcinoma in situ of cervix, melanoma in-situ (if fully resected), and/or non- melanomatous skin cancer.
  • Patients with the following within the last 6 months prior to registration must be evaluated by a cardiologist and/or neurologist prior to entry into the study.
  • Congestive heart failure > NYHA Class II
  • CVA/TIA
  • Unstable angina
  • Myocardial infarction (with or without ST elevation)
  • Patients must have acceptable renal and hepatic function within 4 weeks prior to registration
  • o For patients stratified following surgery and to concurrent chemotherapy (Arm CRT), calculated creatinine clearance must be > 60 ml/min using the Cockcroft-Gault formula
  • In patients with a contraindication to cisplatin, carboplatin can be used at time of patient enrollment if they are allocated to ARM CRT.

You cannot join if

  • No evidence of extensive or "matted/fixed" pathologic adenopathy on preoperative imaging.
  • Patients must not need a microvascular (free flap) reconstruction. Women must not be pregnant or breast-feeding due to the teratogenicity of chemotherapy. All females of childbearing potential must have a blood test or urine study within 2 weeks prior to registration to rule out pregnancy. A female of childbearing potential is any woman, regardless of sexual orientation or whether they have undergone tubal ligation, who meets the following criteria: 1) has not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy; or 2) has not been naturally postmenopausal for at least 24 consecutive months (i.e., has had menses at any time in the preceding 24 consecutive months).
  • Patient must not have an intercurrent illness likely to interfere with protocol therapy or prevent surgical resection
  • Patients must not have uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled infection despite antibiotics, or uncontrolled hypertension within 30 days prior to registration.

The treatment

How it is intended to work

This is how the treatment is meant to work. Whether it helps, and how safe it is, is what this trial is testing.

Treatments listed in the registry

  • therapeutic conventional surgery (Procedure): Transoral surgical resection of tumor(s).
  • laboratory biomarker analysis (Other): Correlative studies
  • quality-of-life assessment (Other): Ancillary studies.
  • intensity-modulated radiation therapy (Radiation): Low-dose IMRT
  • Cisplatin (Drug): Given IV.
  • Carboplatin (Drug): Given IV

The study

Treatment groups

Non Randomized · Parallel · masking: None

Arm S (Low Risk) (Experimental)

Low risk patients are defined as T1-T2 AND 0 or 1 metastatic lymph nodes AND <3 cm AND clear (≥3mm) margins AND no extracapsular extension (ECE) AND no perineural invasion AND no lymphovascular invasion. Patients will undergo transoral surgical resection of the oropharyngeal tumor.

Arm RT (Intermediate Risk) (Experimental)

Intermediate risk patients are defined as having any of the following features: One or more close (<3mm) margins, OR "minimal" ≤1 mm ECE OR 1 or more metastatic lymph nodes >3 cm in diameter OR 2-4 lymph nodes positive (≤ 6 cm in diameter), OR perineural invasion OR lymphovascular invasion Patients will undergo transoral surgical resection of the oropharyngeal tumor. Following surgery, patients will receive low-dose IMRT five times a week for 3 weeks.

Arm CRT (High Risk) (Experimental)

High risk patients are defined as having any of the following features: One or more positive margins OR >1 mm ECE OR ≥ 5 metastatic lymph nodes. Patients will undergo transoral surgical resection of the oropharyngeal tumor. Following surgery, patients will receive low-dose IMRT six times a week and a weekly chemotherapy infusion (cisplatin or carboplatin) during radiation therapy. Patients will receive 2 Gy/fraction, 6 fractions per week with at least a 6-hour interfraction interval between each treatment: * PTV-P50 or PTV-N50: 50 Gy in 25 fractions (2 Gy/fx) * PTV-N45: 45 Gy in 25 fractions (1.8 Gy/fx) with simultaneous integrated boost to the PTV-P50 volume. * PTV-P30 or PTV-N30: 30 Gy in 15 fractions (2 Gy/fx)

What it involves

Procedures

As the registry describes them. Requirements to join, such as a tissue sample, are in the eligibility list above even when on-study procedures are optional. Ask the study team which steps apply to you.

  • questionnaires: Part of the study plan
  • surgery: Part of the study plan
  • radiation: Part of the study plan

Goals

What the study measures

Main goals

  • Recurrence-Free Survival (RFS) (Up to 2 years (for cohort))

Other goals

  • Loco-regional control (at 1 year)
  • Loco-regional control (at 2 years)
  • Time to distant metastasis (at 1 year)
  • Time to distant metastasis (at 2 years)
  • Overall survival at 1 year
  • Overall survival at 2 years
  • Distribution of patients based on histologic risk features
  • Assessment of PEG tube dependence
  • Adverse Events Related to Treatment
  • Quality of Life via FACT-HN
  • MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head & Neck (MDASI-HN)
  • Modified Barium Swallow (MBS) rating
  • Voice outcomes
  • Performance Status Scale (PSS-HN)
  • MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI)

Planned enrollment: 150 (estimated).

Where

Recruiting US sites

  • UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Site status as of Oct 30, 2026. Check the live record before contacting a site.

Sources

Where this comes from

Registry record reviewed as fetched Oct 30, 2026, last updated by the sponsor Jul 20, 2026. Public record; not medical advice.

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