Clinical trial · Interventional
Assessment of (Chemo)RT-related Dysphagia in HNC Patients Based on Cough-related Acoustic Features
Assessment of Radio(Chemo)Therapy-related Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Based on Cough-related Acoustic Features
- 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)
To develop this objective and easily implementable assessment method of coughing based on acoustic features of voluntary and reflex coughs, there is a primary need in identifying and comparing acoustic cough features in healthy subjects and different disease-related coughs features. Cough is a common reason for seeking medical care. Chronic cough, defined as a cough that has lasted for longer that eight weeks, represents 10-38% of all referrals made to respiratory physicians \[1-2\]. Furthermore, between 60 and 80% of patients with chronic obstructivepulmonary disease (COPD) report cough. Following this pilot study comparing different populations, the applicability of the selected acoustic cough features should be examined in HNC patients with radiotherapy-induced dysphagia, Another frequent aspect of the clinical diagnostic examination of swallowing is perceptual analysis of voice quality immediately following deglutition. Changes in voice quality are assumed to provide information on the possible accumulation of saliva or food at the vocal folds level. It is reported that a change of voice may indicate laryngeal dysfunction or the presence of a foreign body at the laryngeal level \[3\] confirm that a normophonic voice after swallowing reflects a lack of aspiration-penetration. However, research shows that there is no strong correlation between aspiration and changes in perceptual voice quality (e.g. wet voice). A more reliable and easily implementable method could be detection of specific acoustic features of changes in voice quality.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dysphagia | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Head and Neck Cancer | Malignant Head and Neck Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acoustic cough features analysis | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- OTHER
- label
- Cough and voice analysis in HNC patients
- description
- Patients will undergo acoustic cough features analysis.
- interventionNames
- Other: Acoustic cough features analysis
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- acoustic cough features in HNC patients as biomarkers for dysphagia/aspiration.
- timeFrame
- at least 3 months post-RT
- description
- cough and voice analysis (using voice recording and frequencies obtained) of HNC patients post RT will be analysed to detect early diagnosis biomarkers for dysphagia/aspiration
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion criteria: * HNC patients in complete clinical remission (10 male/10 female adults \& 10 male/10 female elderly) * Patients diagnosed with dysphagia (with evaluation by videofluoroscopy) * Patients treated with radiochemotherapy and selected three months after the end of treatment. Exclusion criteria: -pulmonary diseases.
References
Publications (3)
- BACKGROUNDIrwin RS, Curley FJ, French CL. Chronic cough. The spectrum and frequency of causes, key components of the diagnostic evaluation, and outcome of specific therapy. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1990 Mar;141(3):640-7. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/141.3.640. PMID 2178528
- BACKGROUNDMcGarvey LP, Heaney LG, Lawson JT, Johnston BT, Scally CM, Ennis M, Shepherd DR, MacMahon J. Evaluation and outcome of patients with chronic non-productive cough using a comprehensive diagnostic protocol. Thorax. 1998 Sep;53(9):738-43. doi: 10.1136/thx.53.9.738. PMID 10319055
- BACKGROUNDWaito A, Bailey GL, Molfenter SM, Zoratto DC, Steele CM. Voice-quality abnormalities as a sign of dysphagia: validation against acoustic and videofluoroscopic data. Dysphagia. 2011 Jun;26(2):125-34. doi: 10.1007/s00455-010-9282-4. Epub 2010 May 8. PMID 20454806