Image-guided Proton Therapy for the Treatment of Locally Advanced Unresectable Head and Neck Cancer

This phase I trial studies the side effects of image-guided hyper-fractioned proton therapy in treating patients with head and neck cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced) and cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable). Radiation therapy uses high energy protons to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. The change in dose radiation frequency and dose investigated in this study may help to better control the tumor and prevent it from coming back or growing. The goal of this study is to test a new radiation schedule that administers more radiation to the tumor tissue using image guided proton therapy for patients that have a high risk of having a tumor recurrence (the tumor comes back after treatment).