This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of a combination of gabapentin and ketamine and to see how well it works to prevent acute and chronic pain in patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy (chemoradiation) for head and neck cancer that has spread to nearby tissue or lymph nodes (locally advanced). Gabapentin is a medication that is commonly used to treat nerve related pain. Specifically, it has been used to treat pain involving the mouth, throat and nasal passages in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation. Ketamine is a type of general anesthetic that blocks pathways to the brain involved with sensing pain. This trial may help doctors determine how patients tolerate the combination of gabapentin and ketamine and to find the correct dosing for ketamine in those taking gabapentin. This will be the basis for a future, larger study to look at how effective this combination is at reducing and/or preventing pain in head and neck cancer patients.

This phase II trial studies the effect of panitumumab-IRDye800 in detecting head and neck cancer during surgery in patients head and neck cancer. Doctors who perform surgery for head and neck cancer are well-trained in removing all of the cancer that can be seen during the operation; however, there are times when there is cancer that is so small that it cannot be seen by the surgeon. Panitumumab-IRDye800 is a combination of panitumumab and IRDye800CW. Panitumumab works by attaching to the cancer cell in a unique way that allows the drug to get into the cancer tissue. IRDye800CW is an investigational dye that, when tested in the laboratory, helps various characteristics of human tissue show up better when using a special camera. Panitumumab-IRDye800 is a combination of the drug and the dye that attaches to cancer cells and appears to make them visible to the doctor when he or she uses the special camera during the surgery. Giving panitumumab-IRDye800 may help doctors better identify cancer in the operating room.

This phase I trial tests the safety and effectiveness of indium In 111 panitumumab (111In-panitumumab) for identifying the first lymph nodes to which cancer has spread from the primary tumor (sentinel lymph nodes) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) undergoing surgery. The most important factor for survival for many cancer types is the presence of cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes (metastasis). Lymph node metastases in patients with head and neck cancer reduce the 5-year survival by half. Sometimes, the disease is too small to be found on clinical and imaging exams before surgery. 111In-panitumumab is in a class of medications called radioimmunoconjugates. It is composed of a radioactive substance (indium In 111) linked to a monoclonal antibody (panitumumab). Panitumumab binds to EGFR receptors, a receptor that is over-expressed on the surface of many tumor cells and plays a role in tumor cell growth. Once 111In-panitumumab binds to tumor cells, it is able to be seen using an imaging technique called single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT). SPECT/CT can be used to make detailed pictures of the inside of the body and to visualize areas where the radioactive drug has been taken up by the cells. Using 111In-panitumumab with SPECT/CT imaging may improve identification of sentinel lymph nodes in patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer undergoing surgery.