Can a shorter chemo schedule work as well for head and neck cancer?

NCT ID NCT07419464

First seen Feb 19, 2026

Summary

This study compares two ways of giving the chemotherapy drug 5-FU to people with head and neck cancer that has spread or come back after prior treatments. One group gets the drug over two days every two weeks, the other over four days every three weeks. The goal is to see which schedule better controls the cancer while causing fewer side effects. About 46 people will take part.

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This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.

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Contacts and locations

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States

    Contact

    Contact Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

    Contact

    Contact

    Contact

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What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), a chemotherapy drug

What this could lead to

If successful, this trial could identify a better-tolerated dosing schedule of 5-FU that still controls tumor growth in patients with advanced head and neck cancer.

What could go wrong

This is a small, early-phase trial (46 participants) testing two existing regimens, not a new drug. The expected response rate is modest (10% or higher), and side effects like dose reductions or delays are common with chemotherapy.

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

head and neck squamous cell carcinoma laryngeal disorder metastatic squamous cell carcinoma squamous cell carcinoma Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.