title: Chemoradiation in elderly patients with head and neck cancers: a single institution experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of concurrent chemoradiation in patients with head and neck cancers aged 65 and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two elderly patients were treated with radical chemoradiation. Twenty-six (81.3%) out of thirty-two patients had stage III-IV disease. Twenty-nine (90.6%) patients received concurrent weekly cisplatin or carboplatin, 3 (9.4%) patients received concurrent cetuximab or nimotuzumab. Total dose of radiotherapy ranged from 66Gy to 70Gy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-nine patients (90.6%) completed at least 5cycles of concurrent chemotherapy. Twenty-four (77.6%) patients achieved complete response. Fourteen (45.2%) patients experienced grade 3 mucositis. None of our patients developed grade 3 or above hematological toxicity. Loco-regional control and overall survival at 2year were 71.6% and 88.9%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chemoradiation in elderly patients with high precision radiotherapy is a feasible option.
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Tejinder
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kataria
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Electronic address: deepakonco@rediffmail.com.
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Shyam Singh
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Bisht
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Shikha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Trinanjan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Anurita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Ashu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abhishek
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Govardhan
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Kuldeep
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology, Medanta Cancer Institute, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Vikash
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D061214:Patient Safety; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome