Treatment of head and neck cancer in elderly patients: state of the art and guidelines

Radiotherapy is a feasible treatment in elderly patients, also in very advanced age groups and, in the era of organ preservation, chemotherapy combined with RT has a paramount importance. Therapeutical planning must be based not only on tumor characteristics, but also on the physiological, rather than the chronological age the patient. The main clinical problem is, therefore, the selection of patients to be administered anticancer treatment. In patients aged 70 or older, complete geriatric assessment and a multidisciplinary approach are the crucial points.