Brachytherapy for tongue cancer in the very elderly is an alternative to external beam radiation

Abstract

Background: The result of curative treatment for very elderly patients with tongue carcinoma has not been reported to date. We retrospectively reviewed the results of brachytherapy in 125 the patients aged over 75 years. Methods: The results of brachytherapy in 125 patients, 75 years old or older, with Stage I or II squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue were reviewed. The 125 cases consisted of 31 Stage I and 94 Stage II cases; 67 patients were under 80 years old and 58 were over 80 years old. All patients were treated using low-dose-rate brachytherapy (

National Cancer Database Analysis of the effect of brachytherapy on overall survival in patients with base of tongue cancer

“…BT alone for BOT cancer can be used for salvage treatment, in the setting of recurrent or new disease in previously irradiated fields, with reported median OS ranging from 11 months to 5 years . Although there are no reported studies of de novo BT only for BOT cancer, a study by Khalilur et al reported outcomes of elderly patients (over 75 years old) with early stage oral tongue cancer treated with BT, with a 3 year OS of 57%, similar to the results of our study . Thus, BT alone could possibly be used for patients with early stage BOT tumors.…”

“…32 Although there are no reported studies of de novo BT only for BOT cancer, a study by Khalilur et al reported outcomes of elderly patients (over 75 years old) with early stage oral tongue cancer treated with BT, with a 3 year OS of 57%, similar to the results of our study. 33 Thus, BT alone could possibly be used for patients with early stage BOT tumors.…”

198Au grain implantation for early tongue cancer in patients of advanced age or poor performance status

“…With the rapid aging of Japan's population, the incidence rates of tongue cancer with advanced age are also rising [ 10 ]. Most of these patients cannot undergo invasive surgery, brachytherapy using 192 Ir hairpins or 197 Cs needles, or chemoradiation [ 7 ]. One of the curative treatment modalities left is 198 Au grains, because these grains can be applied under local anesthesia without producing pain or discomfort [ 7 ].…”

“…Most of these patients cannot undergo invasive surgery, brachytherapy using 192 Ir hairpins or 197 Cs needles, or chemoradiation [ 7 ]. One of the curative treatment modalities left is 198 Au grains, because these grains can be applied under local anesthesia without producing pain or discomfort [ 7 ]. Our results showed that the differences in the cause-specific survival and local control rates between the Au-group and the Ir-group were less than 17%.…”

“…198 Au grains are alternative sources used in our institution, usually prescribed for patients who cannot tolerate surgery, 192 Ir hairpins, or 137 Cs needles because of advanced patient age or poor performance status due to the presence of complications such as dementia, diabetes, or apoplexy [ 7 , 8 ]. 198 Au grains are small and can be easily applied under local anesthesia without causing severe pain or discomfort during the insertion and treatment [ 9 ].…”