p-PHOTOLARYNX- ANTHEM: Photon-Counting CT in Laryngeal Cancer Staging

Laryngeal cancer can affect speaking, swallowing, and breathing. Treatment selection depends on accurately defining tumor spread within the larynx, particularly invasion of the paraglottic space, thyroid cartilage, and subglottic region. Understaging may lead to insufficient treatment and recurrence, whereas overstaging may result in unnecessarily aggressive surgery and impaired quality of life. CT and MRI are routinely used for local staging, but both have limitations. Conventional CT may have limited soft-tissue and cartilage contrast, while MRI is more time-consuming, motion-sensitive, and not feasible in all patients. Photon-counting CT (PCCT) is a new CT technology offering higher spatial resolution, improved tissue contrast, and reconstructions at different energy levels. This study evaluates whether PCCT performed during phonation, while the patient produces a sustained sound, can improve local staging of laryngeal cancer. Phonation may better separate and display laryngeal structures, improving detection of tumor extension. The main hypothesis is that optimized phonation PCCT reconstructions can assess tumor spread more accurately than standard CT and may approach MRI performance. Participants undergo PCCT as part of routine preoperative imaging. Images are reconstructed using different settings and reviewed by radiologists for image quality and tumor extension. When surgery is performed, imaging findings are compared with surgical and histopathological results. The study aims to identify the most accurate PCCT reconstruction strategy to support better treatment planning in laryngeal cancer.

NCT Number	NCT07603167
Lead Sponsor	Humanitas University
Conditions	Laryngeal Cancer, Laryngeal Carcinoma
Enrollment	60 participants
Start Date	2025-05-16
Primary Completion	2026-05-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2027-05-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-05-22