
“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”
Please note - this trial is no longer recruiting patients. We hope to add results when they are available.
This trial is looking at a new way of giving radiotherapy called CHARTWEL.
Radiotherapy is sometimes given after surgery for head and neck cancers. This is to try to stop the cancer coming back. This trial is comparing 2 different ways of giving radiotherapy to people at high or medium risk of a recurrence of their cancer. The trial is comparing radiotherapy 3 times a day (CHARTWEL) with once daily treatment (conventional radiotherapy). The trial is to see which type of radiotherapy is better at stopping the cancer from coming back. The study is also comparing the side effects.
You can enter this trial if
You cannot enter this trial if you
This trial is recruiting 460 patients over 3 years. There are 2 treatment groups. Group 1 will have radiotherapy 3 times a day, Monday to Friday for 2 weeks. This type of treatment is known as CHARTWEL. This stands for Continuous Hyperfractionated Accelerated Radio Therapy - Week End Less.
Group 2 will have radiotherapy once a day, Monday to Friday for 6 weeks. This is known as conventional radiotherapy.
The trial is randomised. The people taking part are put into the different treatment groups by a computer.
You will be asked to complete questionnaires occasionally about how you have felt for the previous week, your general health and any side effects. You will be asked to do this before the study and then yearly for 5 years.
If you are having CHARTWEL, you will have to stay in hospital for 2* weeks (Mondays and Fridays) to have your treatment. Each day, you will have 3 treatments, 6 hours apart. If practical, you can go home over the weekends.
If you are having conventional radiotherapy, you will have to visit the hospital daily, between Monday and Friday for the 6 week treatment period.
You will be asked to go to hospital for check ups after your treatment is over. Both groups will be seen weekly until the 8th week since treatment began. You will then be seen
You will be asked to have chest X-rays at the 12 week, 6 month and 1 year check ups.
The side effects are similar for both types of treatment. Side effects during the treatment period may be slightly more severe for CHARTWEL, but should clear up more quickly than with conventional radiotherapy. Side effects during, and immediately after, treatment can include
Long term side effects are similar. They can happen with either type of treatment. They can include
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Prof M Saunders
Medical Research Council (MRC)
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
Freephone 0808 800 4040
“I think it’s really important that people keep signing up to these type of trials to push research forward.”