Vulnerability assessment and decision-making in older patients with head and neck cancers planned for chemoradiation: Experience from a Tertiary Care Cancer Centre in India

Key Points

• The aim is to assess vulnerability and its impact on treatment outcomes in older patients with head and neck cancers.
• Analyzed older patients with head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma planned for concurrent chemoradiation.
• Evaluated factors such as frailty, nutrition status, performance status, and chemotherapy toxicity prediction score.
• Followed up on treatment adherence and survival outcomes.
• 71.3% of patients received concurrent chemotherapy based on the assessments.
• Frailty and poor nutrition were identified as significant predictors of shorter survival.
• Higher CARG chemotherapy toxicity prediction scores correlated with increased risk of shorter survival.