Custom DNA blood test could spot head and neck cancer return
NCT ID NCT03896412
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested a personalized blood test that looks for tumor DNA in 40 patients with advanced head and neck cancer. The goal was to see if the test could help predict how the disease will progress and detect if the cancer comes back after treatment. Researchers took blood samples before and after surgery and during follow-up to track changes in tumor DNA levels.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could help doctors better predict outcomes and detect cancer return earlier in head and neck cancer patients.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study (40 people) focused on feasibility, not treatment. The personalized test may not work for all patients or reliably predict relapse.
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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40 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2019
- Finished
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Jan 2023
- 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: * Operable Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (T3-T4 stage and/or N+) * No p16 expression * Curative treatment proposed based on surgery + radiotherapy (+/- chemotherapy) * PS\<3 * Written consent signed Exclusion Criteria: * Metastatic spread * Previous radiotherapy of head or neck * Previous HNSCC (except carcinoma restricted to glottis, with a surgery treatment alone and \>3 years of follow up without relapse)
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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
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CHU
Rouen, 76000, France
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Centre Henri Becquerel
Rouen, 76000, France
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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