A study looking at new ways of supporting people after treatment for cancers of the mouth, throat and voice box (QUENCh)

Please note - this trial is no longer recruiting patients. We hope to add results when they are available.

Cancer type:

Head and neck cancers

Laryngeal cancer

Mouth (oral) cancer

Status:

Closed

Phase:

Pilot

This study is using a nurse led clinic and questionnaires to see if they improve support for people after treatment for mouth cancer, cancer of the upper throat (oropharynx), and cancer of the voice box (larynx).

After you have finished your cancer treatment, you have regular check ups called follow up appointments. Your specialist team will monitor how you are and try to help with any problems. Researchers in this study want to make sure these appointments meet as many needs as possible. They have developed some new ways of working that they will try out in this study.

Follow up clinics led by specialist nurses are becoming common in the UK for people who have had cancer treatment. But few have been for mouth cancer, cancer of the upper throat (oropharynx), or cancer of the voice box (larynx). One possible advantage of these clinics is that nurses will have more time to spend with patients than a doctor may have. The research team have set one up for this study. They will also use a questionnaire that asks you about a range of things to do with your health. This is called a quality of life study. The team hope to find out

If the clinics and questionnaires make a difference to the kinds of problems talked about
If the clinics and questionnaires cause the medical team to take further action in response to issues raised
How people feel about the appointment afterwards
If doctors and nurses use the questionnaires differently

Who can enter

You can enter this study if you

Have cancer of the mouth or upper throat (oropharynx) or cancer of the voice box (laryngeal cancer)
Have had treatment for cancer of the mouth, or upper throat or treatment for cancer of the voice box that has aimed to cure your cancer (rather than control symptoms) in the last 2 years
Are able to come to hospital for the head and neck follow up clinic
Are able to speak, understand and write in English
Are at least 18 years old

You cannot enter this study if you are having treatment to control symptoms of your cancer.

Trial design

This pilot (feasibility) study will recruit 44 people. It is a randomised study. The people taking part will be put into one of 2 groups by a computer. Neither you nor your doctor will be able to decide which group you are in.

Everyone taking part will have 2 extra clinic appointments for the study. If you are in group 1, you will see a specially trained nurse at the study clinic appointments. If you are in group 2, you will see the doctor.

Your first study appointment will be the same as a regular clinic appointment, but will also be video and audio recorded. After your appointment, you will fill out 4 questionnaires. One of these is a quality of life questionnaire. The other 3 will ask about what you thought of the appointment. These will take about 20 to 30 minutes altogether to complete.

You then have a short interview with the researcher. They will ask about your views on your quality of life, and how these were looked at during your appointment. This interview will be audio taped, and take between 20 and 30 minutes.

At the second appointment, you fill out a quality of life questionnaire on a touch screen computer, before you see the doctor or nurse. The researcher will be there to give any help you may need. You then take a print out of the results in when you see the doctor or nurse.

This appointment will be video recorded. After your appointment, you fill out 3 questionnaires about what you thought of your appointment. This will take about 10 minutes. You then have another interview with the researcher, in the same way as you did at your first visit.

Four weeks after your second study appointment, you will be sent a quality of life questionnaire by post. You return it to the study team in the pre paid envelope.

Only people involved in running the study will see or hear what has been recorded during your study appointments. All the information the team collect will be kept anonymous, so no one will able to link the results to you.

Hospital visits

You come to 2 extra clinic appointments to take part in this study. Each visit will take about 2 hours. You will not have to pay for hospital car parking for these 2 study appointments. Or, if you come by public transport, you can claim for this instead.