Patterns of care for octogenarian patients with head and neck cancer

Objective To examine the patterns of care for octogenarian head and neck cancer patients. Methods All newly diagnosed patients aged 80 years or older, who presented at our centre between June 2018 and October 2020, were included. Results The total number of patients was 42. The median Charlson Comorbidity Index was 5 (range, 4-9). The larynx was the most common subsite (n = 12). Twenty-nine patients (66 per cent) were diagnosed at disease stage IV. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histology (86 per cent). Twenty-six patients (62 per cent) had radical treatment and 16 (38 per cent) had palliative treatment. The estimated six-month and one-year overall survival rates for the radical and palliative treatment cohorts were 92.3 per cent and 42.9 per cent (p = 0.001) and 65.4 per cent and 15.4 per cent (p = 0.003), respectively. Conclusion This study provides useful information on octogenarian patients with head and neck cancer. This information may help in conducting prospective studies, especially those focusing on older patients with head and neck cancer, in order to define the ideal care of this patient population.