Study of Injectable Treatment for Velopharyngeal Dysfunction in Adults Surviving Head and Neck Cancer

What this Trial Is About

Velopharyngeal dysfunction VPD is a condition where the soft palate and throat do not close properly during speech and swallowing, leading to nasal-sounding speech, difficulty swallowing, and lowered quality of life. This research focuses on head and neck cancer survivors who may develop VPD due to surgery or radiation therapy. It aims to understand how common and severe VPD is in this group, evaluate advanced tools to diagnose it, and study the effects of a treatment called pharyngeal wall augmentation. Participants will receive a thorough evaluation including physical exams, flexible nasolaryngoscopy to observe throat closure, speech recording and acoustic analysis, nasometry to measure nasal sound, clinical swallowing assessments, and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing FEES. Those with confirmed VPD and meeting clinical criteria may choose to have a pharyngeal wall augmentation injection, which involves injecting a material to improve throat closure. This treatment is given once, and participants will have follow-up assessments to measure changes in speech and swallowing. Throughout the study, all participants undergo detailed assessments of speech intelligibility, nasalance, swallowing function, and quality of life using patient-reported questionnaires. Those receiving the injection will have additional evaluations after treatment to compare results. Key outcomes include the usefulness of nasometry and FEES in diagnosing VPD and the impact of the injection on speech and swallowing. The study helps improve diagnosis and care for VPD in head and neck cancer survivors.

Velopharyngeal Dysfunction in Head & Neck Cancer Patients, Pilot Study