NCT07524894: SNIFF

Staph Nasal Decolonization to Improve Function and Feeding: A Randomized Clinical Trial (SNIFF).

Not yet recruiting Phase 2 Last updated 15 April 2026

What this trial tests

Phase 2 trial testing Mupirocin Ointment [Treatment] in Radiation Mucositis in 126 participants. Not yet recruiting.

Timeline

1 June 2026

Primary endpoint
1 January 2028

30 January 2028

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	David Palma
Phase	Phase 2
Status	Not yet recruiting
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	quadruple
Primary purpose	supportive care
Enrollment	126
Start date	1 June 2026
Primary completion	1 January 2028
Estimated completion	30 January 2028
Sites	1 location across Canada

Drugs / interventions tested

• Mupirocin Ointment [Treatment] — full drug profile →
• Placebo

Conditions studied

• Radiation Mucositis — all drugs for Radiation Mucositis →
• Staphylococcal Aureus Infection — all drugs for Staphylococcal Aureus Infection →
• Head and Neck Cancer — all drugs for Head and Neck Cancer →

Sponsor

David Palma

Who can join

18 and older, any sex, with Radiation Mucositis or Staphylococcal Aureus Infection. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Radiation therapy is a type of treatment that involves using radiation beams targeted at a cancer to destroy the cancer cells or slow their growth. This type of treatment has helped many cancer patients for decades and is intended to kill cancer cells directly. Patients with head and neck cancer are commonly treated with radiation, sometimes after surgery and sometimes the radiation is delivered with chemotherapy at the same time. Radiation treatments have side effects, and the treating oncologist works with each patient to determine the best treatment and manage the side effects.

It has been shown that one of these side effects of radiation is irritation or "sunburn" of the lining of the mouth and throat (radiation mucositis), which can cause difficult or painful swallowing, and pain/discomfort in the mouth/throat. These side effects can lead to dehydration, and weight loss, and sometimes can lead to hospital admissions and treatment delays. This is usually treated by the prescription of pain relievers, dietician support and, if necessary, nutrition via a tube (G-tube).

Because of these symptoms involving the mouth and throat, researchers are looking to study the effect of a common ointment antibiotic used to reduce an infection known as Staphylococcus Aureus. The infection is commonly located in the front of the nose, and during treatment this infection can travel from the nose to the throat and worsen the radiation mucositis and the pain it causes. The study will measure if a course of ointment antibiotic in the nose (twice per day, 5 days on, 5 days off, repeated) can reduce your pain during treatment by reducing severe mucositis related to Staphylococcal infection. This study compares the effects of the study treatment with a "placebo," which looks the same but does not contain any active medicine. Neither you nor your doctor will know which one you are receiving until the study ends. The antibiotic used in the study arm is being used "off-label" for intranasal application (it is normally used to treat skin infections). Possible side effects include local skin irritation or allergic reactions, and in rare cases, a severe allergic response (anaphylaxis).

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial.