Chemoradiotherapy for Head-and-Neck Cancer in the Elderly
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 8180
Special Issue Editor
Interests: radiation oncology; head-and-neck cancer; functional PET hypoxia imaging; particle therapy; radiobiology; mesenchymal stem cells; tissue-based biomarkers; mobile applications in radiotherapy treatment
Special Issue Information
To date, about a quarter of all head-and-neck cancer (HNC) patients are aged above 65 years, and considering the demographic changes, the prevalence of elderly HNC patients will further increase in the foreseeable future. Therapeutic management for elderly HNC patients is challenging due to the increased rate of comorbidities and poorer performance status. As elderly patients were either excluded or considerably underrepresented in the landmark trials defining the treatment for HNC, the optimal therapeutic approach for this often vulnerable patient cohort remains a matter of debate. Surgical approaches are often limited by comorbidities or performance status in elderly HNC patients and may also require adjuvant (chemo)radiation in case of clinical or pathological risk factors. Definitive (chemo)radiation defines a treatment standard for HNC patients, and especially elderly and vulnerable patients may benefit from non-surgical approaches due to an increased risk for perioperative morbidity and mortality. However, treatment algorithms for definitive (chemo)radiation may also require adjustments for age, as elderly HNC patients have been found to benefit less from concomitant chemotherapy or altered fractionation regimens during definitive radiotherapy. Since it is well established that biological age rather than chronological age determines compliance, treatment tolerability, and outcomes, therapeutic decision-making for elderly HNC patients is further complicated. The utilization of standardized assessments for comorbidities, geriatric performance, and patient-reported outcomes is still largely lacking in clinical practice; however, these tools may help significantly to guide physicians in their treatment decisions.
This Special Issue will publish original research articles, reviews, and commentaries that focus on treatment decisions and potential predictors for outcomes of elderly head-and-neck cancer patients undergoing (chemo)radiation.
Prof. Nils Nicolay
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- head-and-neck cancer
- radiotherapy
- chemotherapy
- elderly patients
- geriatric patients
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