Assessing speech disorders in patients treated for oral or oropharyngeal cancer

Validity of a Task of Acoustic-phonetic Decoding on Anatomic Deficits in Paramedical Assessment of Speech Disorders for Patients Treated for Oral or Oropharyngeal Cancer

Observational University Hospital, Toulouse · NCT04742998

This study is testing how well people who have been treated for oral or throat cancer can speak, using a special task to see if it helps understand their speech problems better.

Quick facts

Study typeObservational
Enrollment116 (estimated)
Ages18 Years and up
SexAll
SponsorUniversity Hospital, Toulouse Academic / other
Drugs / interventionschemotherapy
Locations3 sites (Marseille and 2 other locations)
Trial IDNCT04742998 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This observational study aims to evaluate speech intelligibility in patients who have undergone treatment for oral or oropharyngeal cancer. It utilizes an acoustic-phonetic decoding task to objectively assess speech production and perception, bridging the gap between the two. The study hypothesizes that automatic processing of this task will provide reliable diagnostic insights into oropharyngeal deficits. Participants will be assessed based on their ability to produce isolated pseudo-words, with scores correlated to anatomical and functional speech deficits.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates include native French-speaking adults aged 18 and older who have been treated for oral or oropharyngeal cancer and are in clinical remission.

Not a fit: Patients with additional pathologies affecting speech or fluency disorders may not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this study could lead to improved diagnostic tools for assessing speech disorders in cancer patients, enhancing their rehabilitation.

How similar studies have performed: While the approach is innovative, similar studies have shown promise in using objective measures for speech assessment in oncology.

Eligibility criteria

Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients aged at least 18 years old and benefiting from a social security scheme
* Native French-speaking patients
* Patients treated for cancer of the oral cavity or oropharynx (surgical and / or radiotherapy and / or chemotherapy treatment)
* Patients in clinical remission for at least 6 months (chronic nature and stability of the disorders)
* All tumor sizes according to the tumor (T), node (N), and metastasis (M) categories (TNM classification) (T1 to T4)
* Patients with a perceptible speech disorder in a conversational situation or not (to allow the determination of fine deficits)
* Patients who do not object to carrying out the research

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with an associated pathology potentially responsible for speech or fluency disorders (joint, speech and language disorders of developmental, organic or functional origin, voice disorders of organic or functional origin, stammering , stammering, fluency disturbances, speech disturbances of neurological origin)
* Patients reporting an auditory complaint and not having a hearing aid
* Inability to provide the person with enlightened information and to ensure the subject's compliance because of impaired physical and / or psychological health,
* Patients participating in another research including an exclusion period still in progress.

Where this trial is running

Marseille and 2 other locations

Study contacts

How to participate

  1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
  2. Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
  3. Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.
Conditions Speech Intelligibilityspeech deficittumor pathologies of the upper aero-digestive tract
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.