Could a common numbing drug help fight throat cancer?
NCT ID NCT06747390
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This early-stage trial is testing whether injecting the local anesthetic lidocaine into HPV-related throat tumors before robotic surgery is safe and might help destroy more cancer cells. About 30 adults with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer will receive the injection during a routine scope procedure, then undergo standard surgery. The study's main goals are to check for side effects and see if the drug causes significant tumor shrinkage in the lab.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- lidocaine
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple, low-cost way to improve surgical outcomes for HPV-related throat cancer.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early phase 1 trial with only 30 people. It is designed mainly to check safety, not to prove effectiveness. The anticancer effect of lidocaine is still unproven.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Abramson Cancer Center at University of Pennsylvania
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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