The application of comprehensive geriatric assessment in elderly patients with head and neck cancer

Abstract

The treatment of head and neck cancer is dominated by surgery and radiochemotherapy. For elderly patients, however, the rationality of invasive treatment is questioned in clinical practice. Although the proportion of geriatric patients with head and neck cancer is increasing, there are few consistent standards in the literature and guidelines. From the perspective of evidence-based medicine, this paper presents current evidence for treatment so as to provide specific recommendations for treating head and neck cancer in the elderly. Furthermore, based on a systematic literature review, a clinical algorithm is proposed to evaluate the treatment risk of elderly patients with head and neck cancer.

Keywords

• |head and neck cancer|elderly|comorbidity|geriatric assessment|algorithm