NLit and Outcomes in HNC Survivor-Caregiver Dyads

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER · Jun 11, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how well head and neck cancer survivors and their caregivers understand nutrition and how this knowledge affects their health and quality of life. The goal is to find out if both the survivor's and caregiver's understanding of nutrition can lead to better health outcomes, such as improved body composition and functional status. Participants will answer questions about their nutrition knowledge, undergo simple tests to check their nutritional health and physical ability, and discuss their overall well-being and lifestyle choices.

To participate, survivors must have had oral cavity, pharyngeal, or laryngeal cancer and be between 6 months and 4 years post-treatment. They should not have any active disease and must be able to eat food orally without a feeding tube. Each survivor needs to have a caregiver who helps with food shopping or cooking. This study is open to all genders and is currently recruiting participants aged 18 and older who can speak English.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Survivors and their caregivers will be eligible to participate if the survivor 1) has a history of oral cavity, pharyngeal, or laryngeal cancer, 2) is between 6 months - 4 years post-primary oncology treatment, 3) has no evidence of disease, 4) has an informal caregiver living in or out of the home who has a shared or primary role in food procurement and/or preparation, 5) no current use of feeding tube as the primary source of nutrition and can consume food orally, 6) age 18+, 7) English-speaking. Survivors and their caregivers will not be eligible to participate if either has 1) dementia or organic brain syndrome; 2) severe emotional distress; 3) active schizophrenia, 4) another diagnosis of cancer in the past five years (not including skin or cervical cancer in situ).
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Adults unable to consent
• • Individuals who are not yet adults (infants, children, teenagers)
• • Pregnant women
• • Prisoners