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ClinicalTrials.gov 89 recruiting now early-phase tilt #39 of 28,707 conditions

Head and Neck Cancer: early-phase trial registry

89 of 260 indexed Head and Neck Cancer trials are currently recruiting, with more weight in Phase 1-2.

Corpus placement: #39 of 28,707 conditions by registered trial count.

260 US clinical trials · 89 currently recruiting · #39 of 28,707 conditions by registered trial count

Head and Neck Cancer: 260 US clinical trials tracked, 89 recruiting.

Head and Neck Cancer is the subject of 260 registered US clinical trials on ClinicalTrials.gov, 89 of them currently open to new participants. 13 are in Phase 3-4 (later-stage) and 137 in Phase 1-2 (earlier-stage). The most active sponsor is M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, running 19 of these trials.

Enrollment posture brief

Registry condition head-and-neck-cancer

OPEN 89 | RECR 34% | LATE 13 | EARLY 137 | RANK #39 | SPON 19

Nearest open-share peer: Recurrent Malignant Solid Neoplasm (34% recruiting · 38 trials)

Opioid Use Disorder60.5%Aging47.9%Post Traumatic Stress Disord41.5%Head and Neck Cancer (this)34%Melanoma33.1%
Open-enrollment share among volume-matched conditions near Head and Neck Cancer

Head and Neck Cancer lists 89 open slots (34% of 260 indexed trials). Peers are matched on registered volume, not therapeutic-area browse lists. How peer matching works →

Key findings

What ClinicalTrials.gov does not surface for Head and Neck Cancer on its own pages , computed from the registry mirror as of 2026-08-08. Each line carries its own denominator so it can be quoted as it stands.

  1. Head and Neck Cancer is recruiting below its size-band peers.

    89 of 260 indexed trials (34.2%) are open to enrollment, against a 37.1% average across 139 conditions with 100+ trials. The peer set uses the same ClinicalTrials.gov-derived counts as this page.

  2. Sponsorship of Head and Neck Cancer trials is spread across many organizations.

    M.D. Anderson Cancer Center accounts for 19 of 260 trials (7.3%). 124 distinct sponsors appear on at least one study for this condition label.

  3. Most Head and Neck Cancer trials plan to enrol fewer than 100 people.

    Median target enrolment is 53 among the 251 trials that report a genuine target (sentinel values excluded). 165 of those (65.7%) plan for fewer than 100 participants.

  4. Head and Neck Cancer research is mostly interventional.

    213 interventional and 47 observational studies make up this index (81.9% interventional). Study type is sponsor-reported on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Phase 163Phase 274Phase 311Phase 42

Open and recent trials

260 total, page 1 of 6

RECRUITING 9,600 participants

Sample Collection for Ongoing Research and Product Evaluation Study

Natera

NCT07318051

RECRUITING 8,000 participants

Tissue Sample Collection From Patients With Head and Neck Cancer and From Healthy Participants

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

NCT00898638

RECRUITING 7,000 participants

cfDNA Assay Prospective Observational Validation for Early Cancer Detection and Minimal Residual Disease

Adela

NCT05366881

RECRUITING 2,000 participants

Predicting Response to Immunotherapy From Analysis of Live Tumor Biopsies

Elephas

NCT07327489

RECRUITING NA 1,800 participants

Prospective Evaluation of Pencil Beam Scanning Proton Therapy for Previously Irradiated Tumors

The New York Proton Center

NCT05313191

RECRUITING NA 1,400 participants

Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Diagnosing Osteoradionecrosis in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer That Is Primary, Has Come Back, or Has Spread to Other Places in the Body

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

NCT03145077

RECRUITING 1,250 participants

Immunobiology Blood and Tissue Collection of Upper Aerodigestive Malignancies

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

NCT05995821

RECRUITING NA 860 participants

The PhOCus Trial: Implementation of Pharmacogenomic Testing in Oncology Care

University of Chicago

NCT04541381

RECRUITING Phase 2 740 participants

A Study of HER3-DXd in Subjects With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors

Daiichi Sankyo

NCT06172478

RECRUITING 700 participants

Biomarkers in Patients With Respiratory Tract Dysplasia or Lung Cancer, Head and Neck Cancer, or Aerodigestive Tract Cancer and in Normal Volunteers

University of Colorado, Denver

NCT00900419

RECRUITING NA 532 participants

Multi-Site Trial of Navigation vs Treatment as Usual to Improve Initiation of Timely Adjuvant Therapy

Medical University of South Carolina

NCT05793151

RECRUITING 500 participants

Identification and Characterization of Novel Proteins and Genes in Head and Neck Cancer

Stanford University

NCT00230308

RECRUITING NA 480 participants

A Study Evaluating the Integrative Medicine at Home (IM@HOME) Program in People With Cancer

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

NCT05053230

RECRUITING NA 352 participants

The SNAP Tool for Head and Neck Cancer Survivor-Caregiver Dyads

Medical University of South Carolina

NCT05811936

RECRUITING NA 338 participants

Cognitive Outcomes After Brain Substructure-informed Radiation Planning in Pediatric Patients

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

NCT05658731

RECRUITING NA 320 participants

Improving Care for Rural Patients With Solid Tumors

University of Colorado, Denver

NCT04916990

RECRUITING Phase 1 310 participants

A Study to Learn About the Study Medicine Called PF-08046876 in People With Advanced Solid Tumors

Pfizer

NCT07090499

RECRUITING NA 300 participants

Comparing Two Ways to Manage Head and Neck Lymphedema

Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine

NCT05182229

RECRUITING NA 300 participants

Perioperative Nutritional Optimization in Head and Neck Cancer Patients

University of Illinois at Chicago

NCT04449445

RECRUITING NA 270 participants

Implementing the NYU Electronic Patient Visit Assessment (ePVA) for Head and Neck Cancer In Rural and Urban Populations

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

NCT06030011

RECRUITING NA 250 participants

Locally AblatiVe TherApy in OLigO-pRogressive SOlid TUmorS (VALOROUS)

University of California, Davis

NCT06103669

RECRUITING Phase 2 224 participants

Atorvastatin to Reduce Cisplatin-Induced Hearing Loss Among Individuals With Head and Neck Cancer

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

NCT04915183

RECRUITING 200 participants

New MRI Biomarkers in Head and Neck Cancers

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

NCT03483337

RECRUITING 200 participants

Identification of Secreted Markers for Tumor Hypoxia in Patients With Head and Neck or Lung Cancers

Stanford University

NCT00568490

RECRUITING NA 180 participants

Building a Renewed ImaGe After Head & Neck Cancer Treatment (BRIGHT) Multi-Site RCT

Medical University of South Carolina

NCT05442957

RECRUITING Phase 1 170 participants

A First in Human Study of ALX2004 With Advanced or Metastatic Selected Solid Tumors

ALX Oncology

NCT07085091

RECRUITING Phase 2 150 participants

ATATcH Alternating Treatment Plans for Advanced Cancer

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

NCT05358548

RECRUITING 150 participants

NLit and Outcomes in HNC Survivor-Caregiver Dyads

University of Kansas Medical Center

NCT07021885

RECRUITING Phase 1 150 participants

A Study of [225Ac]Ac-AKY-1189 in Patients With Solid Tumors

Aktis Oncology

NCT07020117

RECRUITING NA 150 participants

Photobiomodulation in Head and Neck Cancer-Related Chronic Lymphedema

Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine

NCT06837480

RECRUITING NA 150 participants

A Motion Exergaming Approach for Symptom Management: HNC

University of Alabama at Birmingham

NCT04632654

RECRUITING 140 participants

Reflectance Confocal Microscopy of Oral Cancers in Vivo: a Preliminary Trial Comparing Intra-oral Imaging With Pathology

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

NCT02507141

RECRUITING 125 participants

Fatigue and Molecular Mechanisms in Cancer Patients Receiving CCRT

University of California, San Francisco

NCT06633224

RECRUITING Phase 2 120 participants

A Phase 2a, Single-dose, Open-label Study to Evaluate Diagnostic Performance and Safety of Pegsitacianine, an Intraoperative Fluorescence Imaging Agent for the Detection of Cancer, in Patients With Unknown Primary Head and Neck Cancer (ILLUMINATE STUDY)

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

NCT05576974

RECRUITING Phase 1 115 participants

Dose Escalation and Dose Expansion Study of MDX2001 in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors

ModeX Therapeutics, An OPKO Health Company

NCT06239194

RECRUITING Phase 1 112 participants

Lead-212 PSV359 Therapy for Patients With Solid Tumors

Perspective Therapeutics

NCT06710756

RECRUITING NA 111 participants

Study of De_Intensified Postoperative Radiation Therapy for HPV Associated Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

NCT03875716

RECRUITING 101 participants

COPD Care Pathway Among Patients With Cancer

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

NCT05984680

RECRUITING 100 participants

Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) for Early Treatment Response Assessment of Solid Tumors

Washington University School of Medicine

NCT04354064

RECRUITING NA 100 participants

Evaluation of Radiobiological Effects in Skin Toxicities Head and Neck Cancer Patients With PBS Proton Therapy

Covenant Health Cancer Center

NCT06183268

RECRUITING 100 participants

DESTINY-PANTUMOUR04

AstraZeneca

NCT07124000

RECRUITING Phase 1 98 participants

TheraT® Vectors (Vaccines) Combined With Chemotherapy to Treat HPV16 Head and Neck Cancers

University of Chicago

NCT05108870

RECRUITING Phase 2 98 participants

Sparing Parotid Ducts Via MRI Sialography for Reduced Patient-Reported Xerostomia

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

NCT07278557

RECRUITING NA 90 participants

Axoguard HA Plus Nerve Protector to Reduce Post-operative Neck and Shoulder Dysfunction in Patients Undergoing Neck Dissection

Matthew Spector

NCT07283861

RECRUITING Phase 2 90 participants

Preservation of Swallowing in Respected Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Examining Radiation Volume Effects (PRESERVE): A Randomized Trial

London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's

NCT03997643

RECRUITING NA 89 participants

Early Feeding After Oral Cavity Reconstruction

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

NCT04787939

RECRUITING NA 88 participants

Training Swallowing Initiation During Expiration

Northwestern University

NCT05278039

RECRUITING NA 86 participants

Jump: MR Simulation For Radiation Therapy Master Protocol

Brigham and Women's Hospital

NCT04545957

RECRUITING Phase 2 80 participants

Invert-Prospective Phase II Randomized Trial of Involved Nodal Versus Elective Neck RadioTherapy

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

NCT06477692

RECRUITING Phase 4 76 participants

Apixaban or Enoxaparin After Head and Neck Cancer Surgery

Kiranya Arnold

NCT07189897

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Phase Distribution

PhaseTrial count
Phase 1 63
Phase 2 74
Phase 3 11
Phase 4 2

Named interventions

Most-linked intervention names on Head and Neck Cancer records (sponsor-reported on ClinicalTrials.gov). Counts are trial links, not unique products.

cisplatin Drug
14 trials
Cisplatin Drug
10 trials
Carboplatin Drug
10 trials
radiation therapy Radiation
9 trials
Pembrolizumab Drug
8 trials
paclitaxel Drug
6 trials
Paclitaxel Drug
6 trials
Nivolumab Drug
6 trials

US sites by state

Facility locations filed on Head and Neck Cancer trials. A trial with sites in several states counts in each.

California 58 trials
Texas 49 trials
New York 45 trials
Florida 38 trials
Pennsylvania 32 trials
Illinois 29 trials
Tennessee 28 trials
Massachusetts 27 trials

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, National Library of Medicine. Data is informational only.

What to do with this Head and Neck Cancer page

260 registered trials, 89 currently recruiting, is a starting point for a conversation, not a diagnosis or a recommendation.

Trial and recruiting counts reflect ClinicalTrials.gov registry status as of the data vintage above; individual trial eligibility and enrollment status can change.

Every figure on PlainTrial is rendered directly from the ClinicalTrials.gov registry, no number is typed in by an editor. This Head and Neck Cancer condition card totals 260 registered trials; most-linked intervention cisplatin; top US site state California. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error.