Poor accrual

This study investigates if using a very low carbohydrate diet during combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy is safe and if it can be tolerated by patients.

Standard treatment for head & neck cancer often includes chemotherapy concurrent with radiation therapy (chemoradiation).

This study is a phase I trial to determine the safety of dietary manipulation during chemoradiation for head & neck cancer. Specifically, pre-clinical data from mouse studies indicates a ketogenic diet increases tumor cell killing.

Participants will:

• Utilize a specialized ketogenic diet designed by bionutritional services of the clinical research unit. This diet begins 2 days before chemoradiation and continues through at least 5 weeks of chemoradiation.
• Have blood drawn for research purposes weekly to determine measurements of oxidative stress
• Have urine collected sporadically through the study to determine measurements of oxidative stress
• Keep a diary of concomitant medications, side effects, and blood sugars
• Have follow-up to monitor for outcomes and overall survival

Inclusion Criteria:

• Histologically or cytologically documented squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, larynx or hypopharynx. HPV status will not be assessed for eligibility; while HPV status may affect response to therapy, efficacy is not an outcome measure for this phase I study.
• Candidate for primary chemoradiation as decided by an interdisciplinary team including otolaryngology, medical oncology, and radiation oncology.
• Cancer should be staged via AJCC as stage II, III or IVa.
• Age ≥ 18 years
• ECOG performance status 0-2 (Karnofsky > 50%, see Appendix A).
• Patients must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below:
• leukocytes ≥ 3,000/mm3
• absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm3
• platelets ≥ 100,000/mm3
• total bilirubin < 1.5 mg/dl
• Hgb A1C < 8%
• AST(SGOT) < 2 X institutional upper limit of normal
• creatinine < 1.5 X institutional upper limit of normal OR calculated creatinine clearance ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal.
• Not pregnant. Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately.
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Life expectancy of 3 or less months.
• Prior neck and/or upper thoracic radiotherapy that would cause an overlap of treatment fields.
• Prior therapy to the head and neck, with the intent to treat, the current diagnosis of head & neck cancer.
• Known / established G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) deficiency.
• Chronic system corticosteroids for any reason (inhaled corticosteroids are allowed). Pre-medication for chemotherapy is acceptable.
• Other investigational agents/therapy with the intention to treat the disease under study (observational or imaging trials are acceptable).
• Uncontrolled diabetes defined as a hemoglobin A1C level > 8% (therapeutic action is indicated at greater than 8%).
• Diabetes is not exclusionary provided the patient is not maintained with either oral medications or insulin.
• Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements as determined by study team members.
• Pregnant or lactating women: The risks of radiation and chemotherapy to a fetus are well documented.

Data will be shared on clinicaltrials.gov