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This phase II trial studies the effect of panitumumab-IRDye800 in detecting head and neck cancer during surgery in patients head and neck cancer. Doctors who perform surgery for head and neck cancer are well-trained in removing all of the cancer that can be seen during the operation; however, there are times when there is cancer that is so small that it cannot be seen by the surgeon. Panitumumab-IRDye800 is a combination of panitumumab and IRDye800CW. Panitumumab works by attaching to the cancer cell in a unique way that allows the drug to get into the cancer tissue. IRDye800CW is an investigational dye that, when tested in the laboratory, helps various characteristics of human tissue show up better when using a special camera. Panitumumab-IRDye800 is a combination of the drug and the dye that attaches to cancer cells and appears to make them visible to the doctor when he or she uses the special camera during the surgery. Giving panitumumab-IRDye800 may help doctors better identify cancer in the operating room.

This phase I trial tests the safety and effectiveness of indium In 111 panitumumab (111In-panitumumab) for identifying the first lymph nodes to which cancer has spread from the primary tumor (sentinel lymph nodes) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) undergoing surgery. The most important factor for survival for many cancer types is the presence of cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes (metastasis). Lymph node metastases in patients with head and neck cancer reduce the 5-year survival by half. Sometimes, the disease is too small to be found on clinical and imaging exams before surgery. 111In-panitumumab is in a class of medications called radioimmunoconjugates. It is composed of a radioactive substance (indium In 111) linked to a monoclonal antibody (panitumumab). Panitumumab binds to EGFR receptors, a receptor that is over-expressed on the surface of many tumor cells and plays a role in tumor cell growth. Once 111In-panitumumab binds to tumor cells, it is able to be seen using an imaging technique called single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT). SPECT/CT can be used to make detailed pictures of the inside of the body and to visualize areas where the radioactive drug has been taken up by the cells. Using 111In-panitumumab with SPECT/CT imaging may improve identification of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer undergoing surgery.

This phase I trial evaluates the usefulness of an imaging agent (zirconium Zr 89 panitumumab [89Zr panitumumab]) with positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for diagnosing primary tumors and/or the spread of disease from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastasis) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. 89Zr panitumumab is an investigational imaging agent that contains a small amount of radiation, which makes it visible on PET scans. PET is an established imaging technique that utilizes small amounts of radioactivity attached to very minimal amounts of tracer, in the case of this research, 89Zr panitumumab, to allow imaging of the function of different cells and organs in the body. CT utilizes x-rays that traverse the body from the outside. CT images provide an exact outline of organs and potential disease tissue where it occurs in patients body. The combined PET/CT scanner is a special type of scanner that allows imaging of both structure (CT) and function (PET) following the injection of 89Zr panitumumab. This 89Zr panitumumab PET/CT may be useful in diagnosis of primary tumors and/or metastasis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

This study measures the impact of patient-specific 3D specimen maps on adjuvant radiation treatment volumes and doses to critical organs.