New imaging agent could sharpen cancer treatment decisions
NCT ID NCT07168785
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jul 23, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This early-phase study will test a new radioactive tracer called [18F]-AraG in just 5 people with advanced head and neck cancer. Participants will receive two PET/CT scans (before and during standard chemoradiotherapy) to see if the tracer's uptake matches immune cell activity and predicts treatment response. The goal is to improve risk assessment, not to treat the cancer directly.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- [18F]-AraG radiotracer (a radioactive dye for PET scans)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to a more accurate way to predict how well head and neck cancer responds to chemoradiotherapy, helping doctors tailor treatment.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, tiny study (only 5 people) testing a new imaging agent. It is not designed to prove the tracer improves outcomes, only to see if it correlates with immune activity and response.
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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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 5 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2027
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 1. Patients ≥18 years of age. 2. Ability to provide written informed consent and HIPAA authorization. 3. LA-HNSCC in the larynx, hypopharynx, or human papillomavirus (HPV) negative oropharynx and is planning to receive definitive CRT as the SOC treatment, which includes a total of 70 Gy of radiation dose in 35 fractions, delivered over 5 days a week for 7 weeks, as well as planned weekly cycles of cisplatin (CDDP). 4. Tumor stage III and IV (AJCC 8th edition). 5. Unresectable cases. 6. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2 7. Willing and able to maintain the imaging protocol. 8. Patients planning to receive pre-CRT and post-CRT FDG PET/CT scans as part of the standard clinical practice. Exclusion Criteria 1. Diagnosis of immunodeficiency or receiving systemic steroid therapy or any form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the PET/CT scan. 2. Pregnant or breastfeeding. 3. Patients that will receive definitive induction chemotherapy or surgery. 4. Patients who are unable to complete the radiation therapy.
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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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Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Radiation plus targeted antibody tested in older head and neck cancer patients
- Triple-Drug attack on EGFR-Positive head and neck tumors
- Can immunotherapy before surgery shrink head and neck tumors?
- Can an immunotherapy plus radiation outsmart head and neck cancer?
- Cutting radiation after surgery: a new hope for head and neck cancer patients?
- Can a new drug boost radiation's power against head and neck cancer in older patients?