Abstract 3369
Background
An increase in the number of elderly patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer is expected, but there is no consensus on what is the optimal treatment for patients >70 years with locally advanced disease. Geriatric assessment (GA) is recommended but not validated for guiding treatment decisions. We hypothesized that significant heterogeneity will exist across institutions in patterns of care delivered to elderly patients with LA-HNSCC and in the use of GA and assessment of quality of life (QoL).
Methods
Members of the EORTC, the European Head and Neck Society and national groups in Europe were asked to complete a questionnaire about treatment delivered and use of GA and QoL assessment in elderly patients with LA-HNSCC.
Results
Investigators from 111 centers replied, including 90 (81.1%) academic centers, 16 (14.4%) community hospitals and 5 (4.5%) private clinics. Large differences in treatment patterns were found. For instance, for oropharyngeal carcinoma, one third of the centers indicate that they treat <5% of elderly patients with chemoradiation, while 18 centers (16.2%) treat >40% of elderly patients with chemoradiation. More than half of the centers hardly or never use cetuximab in elderly patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma, while one in five centers treat >20% of the elderly patients with cetuximab. Furthermore, 3 centers (2.7%) treat <5% of elderly patients with oral cavity cancer with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy, while 73 centers (65.7%) offer this to at least 40% of their elderly patients. Fourteen centers (12.6%) routinely perform GA while 43 centers (38.7%) never do, and 39 centers (35.1%) sometimes do. QoL is assessed on a routine basis in one fifth of the centers.
Conclusions
Large differences exist across institutions in the patterns of care delivered to elderly patients with LA-HNSCC. Prospective studies are required in this population to learn how to use GA, how to improve QoL and ultimately improve treatment outcome. For that, consensus on standard of care is essential.
Clinical trial identification
Legal entity responsible for the study
EORTC.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Editorial Acknowledgement
Disclosure
S. Oosting: Research grants (paid to institution): Pfizer, Novartis, Celldex. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
1978 - FAM115c that upregulates proliferation and invasion under hypoxia could be a predictive biomarker for pancreatic cancer.
Presenter: Kiyoshi Saeki
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
3682 - Pathologic assessment following neoadjuvant immunotherapy or chemotherapy demonstrates similar patterns in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
Presenter: Annikka Weissferdt
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
3319 - Tumor-infiltrating CD3+ lymphocytes and ICOS+ T-cells predict a favorable survival in resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Presenter: Min Hee Hong
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
5130 - Chemokine receptor CXCR7 expression, function and clinical implications in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Presenter: Myung-Won Lee
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
4483 - Assessment of PD-1/PD-L1 colocalization in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using bright-field double labeling and quantitative digital image analysis
Presenter: Thomas Mrowiec
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
1175 - Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy (PTTM): 24 case series and its criteria for pathological diagnosis.
Presenter: Naoko Sato
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
1359 - Autofluorescence: a new marker for identifying cancer stem cells (CSCs) in primary tumors
Presenter: Miriam López Gómez
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
2651 - NACC1 as a target of microRNA-331-3p regulates cell proliferation in urothelial carcinoma cells
Presenter: Kohei Morita
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
2233 - Somatic-stem transition of tumor cells is a key link in the metastasis
Presenter: Nicolai Litviakov
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract
2601 - Profile of individuals who never undergo colorectal cancer screening
Presenter: Jérôme Viguier
Session: Poster display session: Basic science, Endocrine tumours, Gastrointestinal tumours - colorectal & non-colorectal, Head and neck cancer (excluding thyroid), Melanoma and other skin tumours, Neuroendocrine tumours, Thyroid cancer, Tumour biology & pathology
Resources:
Abstract