Special Care Patterns for Elderly HNSCC Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

The number of elderly head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients is increasing; however, the evidence regarding the ideal treatment for this often vulnerable and frail patient cohort is limited. Although the benefit of concomitant chemotherapy has been reported to decrease in elderly HNSCC patients based on the MACH-NC meta-analysis, it remains unknown whether state-of-the art radiotherapy techniques such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), modern supportive treatments and alternative chemotherapy fractionation (e.g., cisplatin weekly) may have altered this observation. The objective of this retrospective multinational multicenter study is to determine the oncological outcomes of elderly patients (≥65 years) with locally advanced HNSCCs undergoing definitive (chemo-)radiation and to investigate the influence of concomitant chemotherapy on overall survival and progression-free survival after adjusting for potential confounder variables such as age, performance status and comorbidity burden.

NCT Number	NCT05337631
Lead Sponsor	University Hospital Freiburg Collaborators: Charite University, Berlin, Germany, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Hospital, University Hospital, Zürich, Wuerzburg University Hospital, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, University Hospital Munich, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Case Western Reserve University, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Ohio State University, German Oncology Center, Cyprus, University of Leipzig, Johns Hopkins University, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, University of Giessen, Brno University Hospital, Jena University Hospital
Conditions	HNSCC, Oral Cavity Cancer, Oropharynx Cancer, Hypopharynx Cancer, Larynx Cancer
Enrollment	1,500 participants
Start Date	2021-06-01
Primary Completion	2026-12-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-12-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-03-25