Clinical trial · Interventional
Reconstruction of Cervical Lymphatic System During Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Surgery
An Exploratory Study of Reconstruction of Cervical Lymphatic System by Vascularized Lymphoid Tissue Transplantation During Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Surgery
- 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)
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors. At present, the standard treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network(NCCN) treatment guideline in the United States and the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology(CSCO) treatment guideline in China is a comprehensive treatment model based on surgery, supplemented by radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunization and targeted therapy. Neck lymph dissection is one of the most important surgical procedures for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The injury of surgery and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy leads to inadequate drainage of lymphatic system, leading to head and neck lymphedema. Vascularized lymph node transplantation is successfully used in the treatment of upper and lower limb lymphedema, but has not been reported in the treatment of head and neck lymphedema. At present, neck lymph dissection is the standard surgical protocol for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and there is no clear evidence that neck lymph dissection can be avoided. The dorsal thoracic artery flap can be used to make the flap of chimeric axillary lymph node, and can also be used as one of the vascularized lymph transplantation donor areas for the treatment of lymphedema without increasing the risk of upper limb lymphedema in the donor area. Therefore, the investigators propose: Can the function of the head and neck lymphatic system be reconstructed by transplanting normal lymph nodes from other parts of the body into the neck to form new lymphatic pathways at the same time of operation for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma? In our previous operation for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, thoracic dorsal artery flap with partial axillary lymphoid tissue transplantation was used to repair head and neck defects. Retrospective analysis showed that the lymph node transplantation in the previous cases survived. Therefore, this project designed a prospective exploratory clinical study to clarify the activity and donor safety of cervical vascularized lymphatic transplantation, and further explore the effect of vascularized lymphatic tissue transplantation to rebuild the cervical lymphatic system in reducing the incidence of postoperative head and neck lymphedema, alleviating cervical fibrosis after radiotherapy and even improving the prognosis of patients.
Conditions
Conditions (4)
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 Squamous Cell Carcinoma | Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Lymphedema, Secondary | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Neck Lymph Dissection | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Vascularized Lymph Node Transplantation | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vascularized lymphatic transplantation | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Vascularized lymphatic transplantation
- description
- Surgical methods According to the guidelines, the tumor was removed, the neck lymph node was removed, and the maxillofacial and neck defects were repaired with vascularized thoracic artery flap and axillary lymphatic tissue transplantation.
- interventionNames
- Procedure: Vascularized lymphatic transplantation
Primary outcomes (2)
- measure
- Incidence of head and neck lymphedema within 2 years after surgery
- timeFrame
- At least 3 months to 2 years after surgery
- description
- Head and neck lymphedema refers to external and internal head and neck lymphedema caused by disruption of lymphatic pathways due to surgical neck lymph node dissection or radiotherapy. This disruption prevents lymphatic fluid from flowing from the soft tissue interstitium of the head and neck to the right lymphatic vessel and the left thoracic duct. The incidence rate of head and neck lymphedema within 2 years refers to the proportion of patients with head and neck lymphedema from at least 3 months to 2 years after surgery in all patients who underwent vascularized lymphatic transplantation. The degree of head and neck lymphedema is divided into 5 grades according to the MD Anderson Cancer Center(MDACC) Head and neck lymphedema(HNL) rating scale.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 75 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria:
1. This study selected T2-3,N0-3,M0; Patients with T4a,N0-3,M0 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (AJCC 8th) can be treated surgically with flap repair and no axillary lymphatic metastasis.
2. No history of other malignant tumors 3.18-75 years old
4\. Baseline check is normal:
1. In the past 14 days without the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, the absolute value of neutrophil (ANC) ≥1.5x109/L;
2. Platelets ≥100×109/L in the past 14 days without blood transfusion;
3. Hemoglobin \>9g/dL in the last 14 days without blood transfusion or use of erythropoietin;
4. Total bilirubin ≤1.5× upper limit of normal (ULN);
5. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤2.5×ULN (ALT or AST ≤5×ULN in patients with liver metastasis);
6. Serum creatinine ≤1.5×ULN and creatinine clearance (calculated by Cockcroft- Gault formula) ≥60 ml/min;
7. Good coagulation function, defined as International standardized ratio (INR) or prothrombin time (PT) ≤1.5 times ULN;
8. Normal thyroid function, defined as thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) within the normal range. If baseline TSH is outside the normal range, subjects with total T3 (or FT3) and FT4 within the normal range can also be enrolled;
9. The myocardial enzyme profile is within the normal range (if the researchers comprehensively judge that the simple laboratory abnormality is not clinically significant, it is also allowed to be included);
10. For female subjects of reproductive age, a urine or serum pregnancy test should be taken and the result is negative within 3 days prior to the first treatment (day
1 of cycle 1). If the urine pregnancy test results cannot be confirmed as negative, a blood pregnancy test is requested. Women of non-reproductive age were defined as at least one year after menopause or having undergone surgical sterilization or hysterectomy;
11. If there is a risk of conception, all subjects (male or female) should use contraception with an annual failure rate of less than 1% for the entire duration of treatment up to 120 days after the last treatment (or 180 days after the last chemotherapy drug administration).
12. No axillary lymph node metastasis.
Exclusion Criteria:
1. Diagnosis of other malignant tumors, or treatment of HNSCC did not start.
2. Prior to treatment, an active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment (e.g. use of disease-modifying drugs, glucocorticoids, or immunosuppressants) has occurred within the previous 2 years. Replacement therapies (such as thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic glucocorticoids for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency) are not considered systemic therapy;
3. Known allogeneic organ transplantation (except corneal transplantation) or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation;
4. Known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (i.e. HIV 1/2 antibody positive);
5. Untreated active hepatitis B (defined as HBsAg positive and HBV-DNA copy number detected greater than the upper limit of normal value in the laboratory of the research center);
Note: Hepatitis B subjects who meet the following criteria can also be enrolled:
1. Pre-treatment HBV viral load \<1000 copies /ml (200 IU/ml), subjects should receive anti-HBV therapy throughout study treatment to avoid viral reactivation
2. For subjects with anti-HBC (+), HBsAg (-), anti-HBS (-) and HBV viral load (-), prophylactic anti-HBV therapy is not required, but close monitoring of viral reactivation is required
6. Active HCV-infected subjects (HCV antibody positive and HCV-RNA levels above the lower limit of detection);
7. Pregnant or lactating women;
8. The presence of any serious or uncontrolled systemic disease, such as:
1. The resting electrocardiogram has major abnormal rhythm, conduction or morphology, such as complete left bundle branch block, heart block above Ⅱ degree, ventricular arrhythmia or atrial fibrillation;
2. Unstable angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, New York Heart Association (NYHA) grade ≥ 2 chronic heart failure;
3. Any arterial thrombosis, embolism or ischemia occurred within 6 months before treatment, such as myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris, cerebrovascular accident or transient ischemic attack;
4. Poor blood pressure control (systolic \> 140 mmHg, diastolic \> 90 mmHg);
5. There is a history of non-infectious pneumonia requiring glucocorticoid therapy within 1 year prior to treatment, or there is currently clinically active interstitial lung disease;
6. Active pulmonary tuberculosis;
7. There is an active or uncontrolled infection that requires systemic treatment;
8. Clinically active diverticulitis, abdominal abscess, gastrointestinal obstruction;
9. Liver diseases such as cirrhosis, decompensated liver disease, acute or chronic active hepatitis;
10. Poor diabetes control (fasting blood glucose (FBG) \> 10mmol/L);
11. Urine routine indicated urine protein ≥++, and confirmed 24-hour urine protein quantity \> 1.0 g;
12. Patients with mental disorders who cannot cooperate with treatment;
9. Axillary lymphatic metastasis
10. Medical history or evidence of disease that may interfere with the test results, prevent participants from fully participating in the study, abnormal treatment or laboratory test values, or other conditions that the investigator considers unsuitable for enrollment. The Investigator considers other potential risks unsuitable for participation in the study.References
Publications (13)
- BACKGROUNDCohen O, Brauer PR, Judson BL, Burtness BA, Earles J, Mehra S. Guideline - Adherence in advanced stage head and neck cancer is associated with improved survival - A National study. Oral Oncol. 2022 Feb;125:105694. doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2021.105694. Epub 2021 Dec 28. PMID 34971883
- BACKGROUNDVos JL, Elbers JBW, Krijgsman O, Traets JJH, Qiao X, van der Leun AM, Lubeck Y, Seignette IM, Smit LA, Willems SM, van den Brekel MWM, Dirven R, Baris Karakullukcu M, Karssemakers L, Klop WMC, Lohuis PJFM, Schreuder WH, Smeele LE, van der Velden LA, Bing Tan I, Onderwater S, Jasperse B, Vogel WV, Al-Mamgani A, Keijser A, van der Noort V, Broeks A, Hooijberg E, Peeper DS, Schumacher TN, Blank CU, de Boer JP, Haanen JBAG, Zuur CL. Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab induces major pathological responses in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Nat Commun. 2021 Dec 22;12(1):7348. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26472-9. PMID 34937871
- BACKGROUNDSavvides PP. The role of chemotherapy in the management of patients with head and neck cancer. Semin Plast Surg. 2010 May;24(2):137-47. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1255331. PMID 22550434
- BACKGROUNDDeng J, Ridner SH, Dietrich MS, Wells N, Wallston KA, Sinard RJ, Cmelak AJ, Murphy BA. Prevalence of secondary lymphedema in patients with head and neck cancer. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2012 Feb;43(2):244-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.03.019. Epub 2011 Jul 30. PMID 21802897
- BACKGROUNDStubblefield MD, Weycker D. Under recognition and treatment of lymphedema in head and neck cancer survivors - a database study. Support Care Cancer. 2023 Mar 23;31(4):229. doi: 10.1007/s00520-023-07698-3. PMID 36952136
- BACKGROUNDDeng J, Lukens JN, Swisher-McClure S, Cohn JC, Spinelli BA, Quinn RJ, Chittams J, McMenamin E, Lin A. Photobiomodulation Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Pilot Feasibility Study. Integr Cancer Ther. 2021 Jan-Dec;20:15347354211037938. doi: 10.1177/15347354211037938.