New scan could sharpen detection of head and neck cancers
NCT ID NCT07659678
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a new radioactive tracer called 64Cu-DOTA-ECL1i that aims to make PET scans more accurate for head and neck cancer. Researchers will enroll 90 adults with newly diagnosed or recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The goal is to see if this tracer can better detect tumors and track treatment response compared to standard imaging.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- 64Cu-DOTA-ECL1i (a radioactive tracer for PET scans)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a more precise way to spot head and neck cancers and see how well treatments are working.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase study focused on imaging accuracy, not treatment. The tracer may not prove reliable enough for routine use, and results may not apply to all patients.
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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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 90 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2032
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: * Adult patient 18 years of age or older * Cohort 1: Newly diagnosed locally advanced T3-T4a, N0-3 and M0 squamous cell head and neck cancer scheduled to undergo standard of care surgery with or without neoadjuvant therapy OR Cohort 2: Suspected or biopsy proven recurrent/metastatic squamous cell head and neck cancer scheduled to undergo first-line anti-PD1 therapy. HPV status does not need to be known and both HPV+ and HPV- subjects are eligible to enroll * Lesion size of at least 1.0 cm in longest dimension by conventional imaging. * Able to give informed consent * Not currently pregnant or nursing: Female subjects must be surgically sterile (has had a documented bilateral oophorectomy and/or documented hysterectomy), post- menopausal (cessation of menses for more than 1 year), non-lactating, or of childbearing potential for whom a urine pregnancy test (with the test performed within the 24 hour period immediately prior to administration of Cu-DOTA-ECL1i is negative Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with other invasive malignancies, with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancer, who had (or have) any evidence of the other cancer present within the last 2 years * Unable to tolerate approximately 60 min (total time) of PET/CT imaging
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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
1 site. 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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Washington University School of Medicine
St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a new drug shrink advanced solid tumors?