Multi-Site Trial of Navigation vs Treatment as Usual for Delays in Starting Adjuvant Therapy

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effectiveness of a navigation-based multilevel intervention (ENDURE) with treatment as usual at decreasing delays starting guideline-adherent postoperative radiation therapy among patients with head and neck cancer. The main questions the trial aims to answer are:

• Does ENDURE decrease delays starting PORT relative to treatment as usual?
• Does ENDURE decrease racial disparities in delays starting PORT relative to treatment as usual
• What are the mechanisms through which ENDURE reduces treatment delays?

Description

In this hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation study, the investigators will conduct a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial with cancer centers (n=4; 484 patients) randomized to sequentially deliver treatment as usual (TAU) then ENDURE to patients with head and neck cancer undergoing surgery and postoperative radiation therapy (PORT). The trial will assess the effect of ENDURE vs TAU on delays starting PORT (primary objective), racial disparities in PORT delay (secondary objective), and the underlying mechanisms of ENDURE (secondary objective). The investigators will concurrently conduct a mixed-methods study with quantitative measures of implementation outcomes and qualitative data about implementation determinants from semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and site visits (exploratory objective).

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age >/= 18 years
2. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (or histologic variant) of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, unknown primary, paranasal sinuses, or nasal cavity
3. American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical stage grouping III-IV (8th edition) for patients with SCC of the oral cavity, p16-negative oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, paranasal sinuses, and nasal cavity or AJCC clinical stage grouping III-IV (7th edition) for patients with p16-positive SCC of the oropharynx or unknown primary.
4. No history of radiation therapy for treatment of HNSCC in the definitive or adjuvant settings.Plan to undergo surgery at a participating site
5. Plan for curative intent surgery at one of the participating centers
6. Plan for PORT (regardless of whether it is at the surgical center) with or without concurrent chemotherapy following curative intent surgery based on the expectation of at least one of the following adverse features on final pathologic evaluation: pT3 or pT4 primary, N1 or greater nodal disease, perineural invasion (PNI), or lymphovascular invasion (LVI).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Inability to speak or write English
2. Severe mental illness that would prevent trial participation
3. Synchronous untreated malignancy expected to impact life expectancy