CompARE: Escalating Treatment of Intermediate and High-risk Oropharyngeal Cancer (OPC)

The CompARE trial is for adults between 18 and 70 years old who have been diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer that affects the base of the tongue or tonsils. Your medical team must recommend you for treatment involving chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Generally, this trial focuses on people with more advanced cancer (referred to as T4 or N3), or those with certain types of HPV-negative cancer, or HPV-positive cancer if you have a history of significant smoking.

You would not be able to participate if your cancer is in a very early stage (T1 or T2, N0). Also, if your HPV-positive cancer is less advanced and you have a limited or no smoking history, you might not be eligible. This is because the trial is specifically looking at treatments for more challenging forms of the disease. You'll also need to be in reasonably good general health, with good kidney, liver, and blood functions, and no other cancers diagnosed in the last five years (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer or certain cervical cell changes).

If you are eligible and choose to take part in the CompARE trial, you will be randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups. This means you might receive radiotherapy alongside chemotherapy (like Cisplatin), or you might have surgery, or you might receive an immunotherapy drug called Durvalumab, possibly in combination with other treatments. The specific plan will depend on your assigned group.

Throughout the study, you will have regular visits to the hospital for assessments, scans, and blood tests to monitor your health, how you are responding to treatment, and any side effects you might experience. These visits will be scheduled at specific times during your treatment and for a period afterwards (known as follow-up). The total duration of your participation, including follow-up, will be clearly explained by the trial team. You will be closely supported by medical staff throughout.