Clinical trial · Interventional
Methotrexate Compared With Paclitaxel in Treating Patients With Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
Phase III Randomized Trial of Methotrexate vs. Paclitaxel in Cisplatin-Ineligible Patients With Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. It is not yet known whether methotrexate or paclitaxel is more effective in treating patients with advanced head and neck cancer. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of methotrexate with that of paclitaxel in treating patients who have advanced head and neck cancer that cannot be treated with cisplatin.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head and Neck Cancer | Malignant Head and Neck Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| methotrexate | Drug | Methotrexate | ALIAS |
| paclitaxel | Drug | Paclitaxel | ALIAS |
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 120 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed advanced, incurable, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck Recurrent disease in a previously irradiated field must be biopsy proven or documented unequivocally by physical exam or radiograph(s) Measurable or evaluable disease Patients with ECOG performance status of 0-1 must be ineligible for protocol E-1395 and unable to tolerate cisplatin-based therapy for 1 or more of the following reasons: Hearing loss that precludes cisplatin Unable to handle a fluid load necessitated by cisplatin-based treatment, due to underlying cardiac or pulmonary disease Mild renal insufficiency (creatinine 1.6-2.0 mg/dL) or creatinine clearance of 40-60 mL/min that would make cisplatin treatment difficult, if not dangerous History of brain metastases allowed if disease has stabilized or improved after radiation and/or craniotomy No history of carcinomatous meningitis PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 18 and over Performance status: ECOG 0-2 (See Disease Characteristics) Life expectancy: Not specified Hematopoietic: Absolute neutrophil count at least 1,800/mm3 Platelet count at least 100,000/mm3 Hepatic: Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 mg/dL SGOT and SGPT no greater than 5 times upper limit of normal Renal: See Disease Characteristics Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL No evidence of symptomatic hypercalcemia Cardiovascular: See Disease Characteristics No active angina or uncontrolled arrhythmias Metabolic: No uncontrolled diabetes; no random blood sugar at least 300 mg/dL Neurological: No evidence of ongoing grade 2 or greater peripheral sensory neuropathy Pulmonary: See Disease Characteristics Other: No other concurrent, active, invasive malignancies No significant detectable infection Not pregnant or nursing Effective contraception required of all fertile patients PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy except in the adjuvant, neoadjuvant, or radiosensitizing setting No prior chemotherapy for recurrent or persistent disease after definitive local therapy At least 6 months since prior methotrexate or paclitaxel Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: See Disease Characteristics At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy Surgery: See Disease Characteristics Recovered from prior surgery
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available