New combo therapy aims to cut side effects in head and neck cancer

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Previously untreated, histologically proven primary squamous cell carcinoma arising in the oral cavity, oropharynx, or supraglottic larynx, and amenable to transoral approach * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-1 (see Appendix C) * Measurable disease as per Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST1.1) * Age ≥18 years * Adequate bone marrow function as demonstrated by: Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1,500 cells/mm3; Hgb \> 10 g/dL (use of transfusion to reach this threshold prior to study initiation is acceptable); Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm3 * Adequate hepatic and renal function as demonstrated by: Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN); Total serum bilirubin ≤1.5 mg/dL; Creatinine clearance (CrCL) ≥ 40ml/min as measured via Cockcroft-Gault * Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) must be \> the lower limit of normal (LLN) per institutional standards by either echocardiography or radionuclide-based multiple gated acquisition (MUGA) * Negative serum human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) pregnancy test within 72 hours of day 1 of induction chemotherapy in women of child-bearing potential * All males and females of childbearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception during the study. Adequate contraception is defined as any medically recommended method (or combination of methods) as per standard of care. Females of non-childbearing potential are those who are postmenopausal greater than 1 year or who have had a bilateral tubal ligation or hysterectomy * Signed an institutional review board (IRB)-approved informed consent document for this protocol. Exclusion Criteria: * tumor 1-node 0 (T1N0) disease or tumor 2-node 0 (T2N0) disease * Any metastatic disease * Not considered eligible for any of the chemotherapy agents included in the induction regimen. * Current active hepatic or biliary disease (with exception of patients with Gilbert's syndrome, asymptomatic gallstones, liver metastases or stable chronic liver disease per investigator assessment) * Major surgery within 3 weeks prior to day 1 of study treatment from which the patient has not completely recovered * Current use of a prohibited medication or requires any of these medications during treatment with lapatinib prior to study entry * Receiving any investigational agent currently, or within 2 weeks of Day 1 of treatment on this study * Active, serious infection, medical, or psychiatric condition that would represent an inappropriate risk to the patient or would likely compromise achievement of the primary study objective, including unstable angina, serious uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia, uncontrolled infection, or myocardial infarction ≤ 6 months prior to study entry * Adequate swallowing function or gastric-tube for drug administration. Of note, lapatinib can be administered via G-tube in a slurry for patients who cannot swallow * Other prior or concomitant malignancies with the exception of: Non-melanoma skin cancer; In-situ malignancy; Low-risk prostate cancer after curative therapy; Other cancer for which the patient has been disease free for ≥ 3 years * Pregnant or lactating women, or adults of reproductive potential who do not agree to use adequate contraception during study treatment (see definition of adequate contraception