DAHANCA

The Danish Head and Neck Cancer Group (DAHANCA) is a permanent working group operating under the authority of the Danish Society for Head and Neck Oncology. It operates an ongoing series of clinical studies regarding head and neck cancers.

DAHANCA receives pharmaceutical industry sponsorship in order to conduct these trials, but it is an independent body, and industry bodies do not have the ability to exert their influence to suppress negative results.

The most recent study was DAHANCA 10 in 2007. DAHANCA 10 was a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study on darpoetin-α (Aransep, Amgen). The data-monitoring committee recommended early termination of this trial as results were suggesting outcomes were more favourable in the control-group compared to patients receiving the drug.^[1]

DAHANCA 5^[2] and DAHANCA 6/7^[3] were other notable studies conducted by the group.

References

1. ^ "Results from a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study on Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa)". Office of Oncology Drug Products (OODP). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2007-02-22. http://www.fda.gov/CDER/Offices/OODP/whatsnew/darbepoetin_alfa.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-14. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Eriksen JG, Overgaard J (2007). "Lack of prognostic and predictive value of CA IX in radiotherapy of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with known modifiable hypoxia: An evaluation of the DAHANCA 5 study>". Radiotherapy and Oncology 83 (3): 383. doi:10.1016/j.radonc.2007.05.009. PMID 17543403. 
3. ^ Overgaard J, Hansen HS, Specht L, et al. (2003). "Five compared with six fractions per week of conventional radiotherapy of squamous-cell carcinoma of head and neck: DAHANCA 6 and 7 randomised controlled trial". Lancet 362 (9388): 933–40. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14361-9. PMID 14511925. 

External links

• DAHANCA official website (Danish)