Can watching and waiting beat early treatment for Slow-Growing head and neck tumors?
NCT ID NCT07784595
First seen Aug 25, 2026 · Last updated Aug 26, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial asks whether monitoring a slow-growing head and neck tumor without immediate treatment can preserve quality of life better than early surgery or radiation. Adults with newly diagnosed carotid or vagal paragangliomas are randomly assigned to either active surveillance or immediate intervention. The study tracks how long it takes for functional decline to occur, using quality-of-life scores, and compares outcomes between the two approaches.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Active surveillance (watchful waiting) compared with immediate intervention (surgery or radiation therapy)
- What this could lead to
- If active surveillance proves better, patients with these slow-growing tumors might avoid unnecessary treatment and preserve quality of life longer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a randomized trial, but results may not apply to all patients. Active surveillance carries a risk of tumor growth or symptom development, and treatment may be needed later.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 122 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Oct 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2034
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients ≥ 18 years-old, * Diagnosis of carotid or vagal HNPG with a largest diameter more than 10 mm * Diagnosis confirmed by imaging reading (MRI of CT scan) from less than 6 months, * Study eligibility validated in multidisciplinary discussion, * Patient followed in the reference center, * Preliminary written informed consent before any study-specific intervention Exclusion Criteria: * Patient with initial nerve palsy due to the evaluated HNPG, * Patient with non-typical presentation suggestive of aggressiveness (tumor pain, atypical imaging, suspicious lymphadenopathy), * Malignant HNPG identified by extra cervical lesion on metabolic imaging, * More than one HNPG at inclusion * Secreting HNPG defined as plasma or urine metanephrine or normetanephrine more than 2 times ULN, * Patient already treated with cervical radiotherapy, * Patient already treated with systemic therapy for another pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma, * Patient with another evolutive disease or other condition resulting on a life expectancy of less than 5 years at the investigator's discretion, * Patient unable or unwilling to be treated at the study center * Patients currently enrolled in another interventional study including investigational medicinal products or device, * Female patients who are pregnant, lactating or women of child-bearing potential without highly effective methods of contraception * Persons deprived of their liberty by a judicial or administrative decision * Persons under psychiatric care * Persons admitted to a health or social institution for purposes other than research * Adults subject to a legal protection measure (guardianship, curatorship) * Persons not affiliated to a social security scheme or beneficiaries of a similar scheme
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
8 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Endocrinologie, diabète et nutrition - Hôpital de Hautepierre - CHRU de Strasbourg
Strasbourg, 67091, France
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Fédération d'endocrinologie, Hôpital cardiologique - Groupement Hospitalier Est - Hospices Civils de Lyon
Bron, 69500, France
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Médecine Nucléaire - Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière - AP-HP
Paris, 75013, France
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Service Endocrinologie Diabétologie Nutrition - Hôpital Nord Laennec - CHU de Nantes
Saint-Herblain, 44800, France
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Service Endocrinologie et métabolismes - Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou - AP-HP
Paris, 75015, France
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Service ORL - Hôpital Lariboisière - AP-HP
Paris, 75010, France
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Service d'Endocrinologie - Hôpital Cochin
Paris, 75014, France
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Service d'endocrinologie, diabétologie et nutrition - Hôpital Haut-Lévêque - CHU de Bordeaux
Pessac, 36604, France
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