# DAHANCA 5

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/dahanca-5/  
OnCo record `dahanca-5` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

DAHANCA 5 is the trial that made hypoxic sensitisation real in the clinic: nimorazole with radiotherapy improved control of head and neck cancer, and Denmark has used it as standard ever since.

## Summary

DAHANCA 5 randomised 422 patients with carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx or pharynx to nimorazole or placebo during conventional radiotherapy. Five-year locoregional control was 49 percent with nimorazole and 33 percent with placebo, with a survival advantage in the pharynx subgroup and minimal added toxicity (Overgaard and colleagues, Radiotherapy and Oncology 1998). A later analysis showed the benefit was confined to tumours with a hypoxic gene signature, and a European confirmatory trial (EORTC 1219) followed.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: positive
- Last checked: 2026-09-16
- Tags: radiation-wave2
- Phase: 3
- Setting: Supraglottic larynx and pharynx cancer treated with radiotherapy: the hypoxic radiosensitiser nimorazole versus placebo
- Sponsor: Danish Head and Neck Cancer Group
- Enrolled: 422
- Result: 5-year locoregional control 49% (nimorazole) vs 33% (placebo).
- Outcomes: Locoregional control at 5 years: Nimorazole plus radiotherapy 49% vs Placebo plus radiotherapy 33%

## Sources

- Radiotherapy and Oncology 1998: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8140(97)00220-X

## Connected records

- cancers: [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/)
- technologies: [Radiosensitisers](https://onco.cc/technologies/radiosensitisers/), [Tumour hypoxia: imaging and modification](https://onco.cc/technologies/tumour-hypoxia-modification/)
- terms: [Tumour hypoxia](https://onco.cc/terms/tumour-hypoxia/)
- drugs: [Nimorazole](https://onco.cc/drugs/nimorazole/)

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