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Staph Nasal Decolonization to Improve Function and Feeding

NCT07524894 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 126

Last updated 2026-05-01

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Radiation therapy is a type of treatment that involves using radiation beams targeted at a cancer to destroy the cancer cells or slow their growth. This type of treatment has helped many cancer patients for decades and is intended to kill cancer cells directly. Patients with head and neck cancer are commonly treated with radiation, sometimes after surgery and sometimes the radiation is delivered with chemotherapy at the same time. Radiation treatments have side effects, and the treating oncologist works with each patient to determine the best treatment and manage the side effects.

It has been shown that one of these side effects of radiation is irritation or "sunburn" of the lining of the mouth and throat (radiation mucositis), which can cause difficult or painful swallowing, and pain/discomfort in the mouth/throat. These side effects can lead to dehydration, and weight loss, and sometimes can lead to hospital admissions and treatment delays. This is usually treated by the prescription of pain relievers, dietician support and, if necessary, nutrition via a tube (G-tube).

Because of these symptoms involving the mouth and throat, researchers are looking to study the effect of a common ointment antibiotic used to reduce an infection known as Staphylococcus Aureus. The infection is commonly located in the front of the nose, and during treatment this infection can travel from the nose to the throat and worsen the radiation mucositis and the pain it causes. The study will measure if a course of ointment antibiotic in the nose (twice per day, 5 days on, 5 days off, repeated) can reduce your pain during treatment by reducing severe mucositis related to Staphylococcal infection. This study compares the effects of the study treatment with a "placebo," which looks the same but does not contain any active medicine. Neither you nor your doctor will know which one you are receiving until the study ends. The antibiotic used in the study arm is being used "off-label" for intranasal application (it is normally used to treat skin infections). Possible side effects include local skin irritation or allergic reactions, and in rare cases, a severe allergic response (anaphylaxis).

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Mupirocin Ointment [Treatment]

1 fingertip unit of topical mupirocin ointment applied BID to both nares in cyclical week on/off fashion throughout radiation treatment

DRUG

Placebo

1 fingertip unit of topical petrolatum ointment (placebo) applied BID to both nares in cyclical week on/off fashion throughout radiation treatment

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • David Palma

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • David Palma, MD PhD · London Health Science Centre

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-06-01
Primary Completion
2028-01-01
Completion
2028-01-30

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Entities

Drugs
Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07524894 on ClinicalTrials.gov