Radiation Therapy With Cisplatin or Cetuximab in Treating Patients With Oropharyngeal Cancer

OBJECTIVES: Primary * To determine whether substitution of cisplatin with cetuximab will result in comparable 5-year overall survival. Secondary * To monitor and compare progression-free survival for "safety". * To compare patterns of failure (locoregional vs distant). * To compare acute toxicity profiles (and overall toxicity burden). * To compare overall quality of life (QOL) short-term (\< 6 months) and long-term (1 year). * To compare QOL Swallowing Domains short-term and long-term. * To compare clinician-reported versus patient-reported CTCAE toxicity events. * To explore differences in the cost effectiveness of cetuximab as compared to cisplatin. * To explore differences in work status and time to return to work. * To compare patient-reported changes in hearing. * To compare CTCAE v. 4 late toxicity at 1, 2, and 5 years. * To evaluate the effect of tobacco exposure (and other exposures) as measured by standardized computer-assisted self interview (CASI) on overall survival and progression-free survival. * To pilot CASI collection of patient reported outcomes in a cooperative group setting. * To determine whether specific molecular profiles are associated with overall or progression-free survival. * To investigate associations between changes in serum biomarkers or human papilloma virus (HPV)-specific cellular immune responses measured at baseline and three months with overall or progression-free survival. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to T stage (T1-2 vs T 3-4), N stage (N0-2a vs N2b-3), Zubrod performance status (0 vs 1), and smoking history (≤ 10 pack-years vs \> 10 pack-years). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. Patients may complete quality-of-life questionnaires and risk factors for head and neck cancer surveys at baseline, periodically during study, and at follow-up for 1 year. After completion of study therapy, patients are followed up at 1-3 months, every 3 months for 2 years, every 6 months for 3 years, and then annually thereafter.