PET Scans and CT Scans in Patients With Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the feasibility of performing positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) imaging for early discrimination of treatment response and post-therapy neck management in patients with locally advanced cancer of the head and neck treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy. Secondary * Perform semiquantitative analysis of tracer uptake in these patients using standard uptake values and qualitative analysis of tracer uptake using pure visual analysis. * Determine the feasibility of distinguishing benign from malignant processes during initial tumor staging of these patients by whole-body PET-CT imaging. * Correlate staging by whole-body PET-CT imaging with staging by standard CT/MRI, clinical exam, and pathologic specimen. * Determine the feasibility of PET-CT imaging in these patients in treatment position for radiotherapy treatment planning, correlate the results with standard CT/MRI images, and record the differences. * Perform PET-CT imaging in these patients during weeks 2 and 4 of chemoradiotherapy to evaluate the predictive value of response to treatment at these time points. * Determine if the time interval for treatment monitoring at 6 and 12 weeks post chemoradiotherapy is important for the predictive value of PET-CT imaging. * Evaluate patients with clinical or radiographic abnormalities worrisome for residual or recurrent disease with PET-CT imaging at 6 and 12 weeks post chemoradiotherapy to assess the need for additional therapies (i.e., neck dissection). OUTLINE: This is a pilot study. Patients receive fludeoxyglucose F 18 (FDG) IV over 90 seconds prior to the initial scan. Patients undergo whole-body computed tomography (CT) imaging with contrast followed by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging (approximately 1 hour after FDG injection) for initial staging and simulation for radiotherapy treatment planning. After PET-CT evaluation, patients with locoregional disease are recommended for standard-care chemoradiotherapy. Patients with evidence of M1 disease that is confirmed by CT/MRI and/or biopsy are treated at the discretion of the attending clinician. During chemoradiotherapy, patients undergo PET-CT imaging, as described above, at the beginning of week 2 and during week 4 for treatment monitoring and early detection of recurrent or residual disease. Follow-up PET-CT scans are performed, as described previously, at 6 weeks and then at 3 months after completion of chemoradiotherapy. After completion of study procedures, patients are followed periodically for up to 5 years.