Objective: To elicit the factors influencing the choice of treatment and the prognosis of elderly patients, we studied the clinical and laboratory data of head and neck tumor patients. The patients were divided into two groups (group A: younger than 75, group B: 75 years of age or older) and the treatment outcomes as well as the features of the laboratory data were analyzed.
Methods: The clinical records of 1350 patients (888 males, 462 females) with head and neck tumors who received their initial treatment at our hospital were reviewed. The collected data including age, the site of the primary lesion, pre-treatment health states, pre-operative laboratory results were examined. According to the treatment policy, we grouped the patients according to whether or not they had received the standard therapy for the disease and then analyzed their treatment outcomes.
Results: Standard therapy was not performed in 62 (5.6%) of the 1114 patients in group A and in 43 (18.2%) of the 236 patients in group B. A further analysis performed in group B (elderly patients) revealed that standard therapy was performed in 193 patients, while 43 received non-standard therapy. The prognosis for the non-standard therapy cases was poor. The averages of the laboratory test findings between groups A and B were compared, but no marked differences were observed. However, differences were observed in the ratio of patients whose data were in the normal range between group A and group B. When the laboratory data were compared between the standard and non-standard groups of the elderly, serum albumin and CBC (especially hemoglobin) showed a close relationship to the treatment modality.
Conclusion: The ratio of patients who did not receive standard therapy was high in the age group of 75 years or older. The prognosis of patients with head and neck tumors is therefore considered to depend on whether or not a patient receives the standard therapy against the disease. The pre-treatment clinical data and the laboratory findings vary markedly among elderly patients 75 years of age or older. Regarding the treatment of head and neck tumors in the elderly, the laboratory data and clinical conditions of each individual patient should be checked carefully and every possible means should be employed in order to allow such patients to receive the standard therapy whenever possible.