Pilot Study of AuroLase(tm) Therapy in Refractory and/or Recurrent Tumors of the Head and Neck

Inclusion criteria

• Patients must have documented histological or cytological evidence of tumor(s) of the head and neck
• Patients must have one or more refractory and/or recurrent tumors of the head and neck which have at least one dimension with longest diameter 15 mm using conventional techniques or 10 mm with spiral CT scan.
• Target lesions should be accessible to examination (examination by fiber optic nasopharyngoscopy or laryngoscopy is permitted) and to biopsy.
• Each index lesion should be large enough to provide at least 6 mg of tumor tissue by biopsy (such as an 18 gauge Tru-Cut needle biopsy 1cm in length or similar technique) for assessment by neutron activation analysis.
• Tumors must be measurable according to RECIST criteria
• Patients must be ≥ 18 years of age
• Patients must have ECOG Performance Score of 0, 1 or 2 (see Appendix 3)
• Patients or their legal representative must be able to read, understand and sign an informed consent
• Adequate renal function as evidenced by serum creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
• Adequate hepatic function as evidenced by: Serum total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL, Alkaline phosphatase ≤ 2X the ULN for the reference lab, SGOT/SGPT ≤ 2X the ULN for the reference lab
• Women of childbearing potential must agree to use an effective form of contraception during the study and for 90 days following treatment (an effective form of contraception is an oral contraceptive or a double barrier method). Women who are NOT of childbearing potential are those who have undergone a bilateral oophorectomy or who have undergone menopause, defined as an absence of a menstrual cycle for 12 consecutive months.
• Negative pregnancy test for women of childbearing potential.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with known hypersensitivity to any of the components of the PEGylated AuroShell suspension (polyethylene glycol, gold)
• Patients who are receiving concurrent investigational therapy or who have received investigational therapy within a period of 5 half-lives of the investigational therapy in question prior to the day of dosing with the PEGylated AuroShell particles (investigational therapy is defined as treatment for which there is currently no regulatory authority approved indication)
• Patients who are pregnant and/or lactating
• Patients with evidence of an active bacterial infection or with a fever ≥ 38.5 ºC (101.3 ºF) within 3 days of the first scheduled day of dosing
• Patients who have undergone splenectomy
• Patient who has had a course of radiotherapy in the treatment area within the past 30 days.
• Patient who has had a course of chemotherapy or other anti-neoplastic therapy in the past 30 days.
• Patient who has had surgery within 2 cm of the treatment area within the past two weeks.
• Life expectancy of less than 3 months.
• Any other medical condition, including mental illness or substance abuse, deemed by the Investigator to be likely to interfere with a patient's ability to sign informed consent, cooperate and participate in the study, or interfere with the interpretation of the results.