Clinical trial NCT01937793: Swallowing Exercises for Nasopharyngeal Cancer After Radiation Therapy
Official title: Swallowing Exercises for Patients With Nasopharyngeal Cancer After Radiation Therapy
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Nasopharyngeal Cancer
Dysphagia
Keywords: radiation
speech-language pathology
Lead sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2013-09-10
Enrollment: 16
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 20
Maximum age (years): 70
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This study is designed to investigate the treatment efficacy of 8 weeks swallowing exercise programs for patients with NPC after radiation therapy. This study also compares two different swallowing exercise: effortful swallow and Mendelsohn's maneuver, to see which one can bring more benefits to patients after a certain period of exercise training. Three assessment tools are selected to evaluate the study result: Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA), videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS), and Chinese version Swallowing Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (CSWAL-QOL). The hypothesis of this study is that the effortful swallowing exercise would have better treatment efficacy.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* patients diagnosed with NPC
* completed radiation therapy at least 1 year
* mild to moderate swallowing disorder defined by videofluorography
* able to comply with protocal mandate, willing to perform the exercise programs, and ability to attend the weekly sessions

Exclusion Criteria:

* feeding tube insitu
* received pharyngeal surgery
* tracheostomy tube insitu
* patients who could not put effort to push posterior tongue base backward and who could not elevate their pharyngeal during swallowing
* severe swallowing disorder or aspirate defined by videofluorography
* other malignances, neurovascular disease, demyelinating disease
* cancer relapse or metastases

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change from Baseline in videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS)
timeFrame: Change from Baseline in VFSS at 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change from Baseline in Chinese version of the Swallow Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (CSWAL-QOL)
timeFrame: Change from Baseline in CSWAL-QOL at 8 weeks
Other outcomes:
measure: Change from Baseline in the Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA)
timeFrame: Change from Baseline in MASA at 8 weeks
Locations:
city: Taipei city
country: Taiwan
facility: National Taiwan University Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: National Taiwan University Hospital
name: Jenq-Yuh Ko, M.D., Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Hind JA, Nicosia MA, Roecker EB, Carnes ML, Robbins J. Comparison of effortful and noneffortful swallows in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2001 Dec;82(12):1661-5. doi: 10.1053/apmr.2001.28006.
citation: Huang HY, Wilkie DJ, Schubert MM, Ting LL. Symptom profile of nasopharyngeal cancer patients during radiation therapy. Cancer Pract. 2000 Nov-Dec;8(6):274-81. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-5394.2000.86007.x.
citation: Hughes PJ, Scott PM, Kew J, Cheung DM, Leung SF, Ahuja AT, van Hasselt CA. Dysphagia in treated nasopharyngeal cancer. Head Neck. 2000 Jul;22(4):393-7. doi: 10.1002/1097-0347(200007)22:43.0.co;2-2.
citation: Kotz T, Federman AD, Kao J, Milman L, Packer S, Lopez-Prieto C, Forsythe K, Genden EM. Prophylactic swallowing exercises in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing chemoradiation: a randomized trial. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012 Apr;138(4):376-82. doi: 10.1001/archoto.2012.187.
citation: Ku PK, Yuen EH, Cheung DM, Chan BY, Ahuja A, Leung SF, Tong MC, van Hasselt A. Early swallowing problems in a cohort of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Symptomatology and videofluoroscopic findings. Laryngoscope. 2007 Jan;117(1):142-6. doi: 10.1097/01.mlg.0000248738.55387.44.
citation: Kulbersh BD, Rosenthal EL, McGrew BM, Duncan RD, McColloch NL, Carroll WR, Magnuson JS. Pretreatment, preoperative swallowing exercises may improve dysphagia quality of life. Laryngoscope. 2006 Jun;116(6):883-6. doi: 10.1097/01.mlg.0000217278.96901.fc.
citation: Lam PM, Lai CK. The validation of the Chinese version of the Swallow Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (SWAL-QOL) using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Dysphagia. 2011 Jun;26(2):117-24. doi: 10.1007/s00455-010-9272-6. Epub 2010 Mar 4.
citation: Lazarus C, Logemann JA, Song CW, Rademaker AW, Kahrilas PJ. Effects of voluntary maneuvers on tongue base function for swallowing. Folia Phoniatr Logop. 2002 Jul-Aug;54(4):171-6. doi: 10.1159/000063192.
citation: Logemann JA. Role of the modified barium swallow in management of patients with dysphagia. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1997 Mar;116(3):335-8. doi: 10.1016/S0194-59989770269-9.
citation: Shaker R, Easterling C, Kern M, Nitschke T, Massey B, Daniels S, Grande B, Kazandjian M, Dikeman K. Rehabilitation of swallowing by exercise in tube-fed patients with pharyngeal dysphagia secondary to abnormal UES opening. Gastroenterology. 2002 May;122(5):1314-21. doi: 10.1053/gast.2002.32999.
citation: Tang Y, Shen Q, Wang Y, Lu K, Wang Y, Peng Y. A randomized prospective study of rehabilitation therapy in the treatment of radiation-induced dysphagia and trismus. Strahlenther Onkol. 2011 Jan;187(1):39-44. doi: 10.1007/s00066-010-2151-0. Epub 2010 Dec 10.
citation: van der Molen L, van Rossum MA, Burkhead LM, Smeele LE, Rasch CR, Hilgers FJ. A randomized preventive rehabilitation trial in advanced head and neck cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy: feasibility, compliance, and short-term effects. Dysphagia. 2011 Jun;26(2):155-70. doi: 10.1007/s00455-010-9288-y. Epub 2010 Jul 11.
citation: Wang TG, Chang YC, Chen WS, Lin PH, Hsiao TY. Reduction in hyoid bone forward movement in irradiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with dysphagia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2010 Jun;91(6):926-31. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2010.02.011.
citation: Wu CH, Hsiao TY, Ko JY, Hsu MM. Dysphagia after radiotherapy: endoscopic examination of swallowing in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2000 Mar;109(3):320-5. doi: 10.1177/000348940010900315.