Resumen
Among elderly adults, there is an increasing rate of those receiving chemoradiotherapy to preserve function and maintain quality of life. Many currently used guidelines on therapies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) exclude elderly adults, although the number of elderly patients with HNSCC is drastically increasing worldwide. In this review, we present the current status and potential new treatment strategies for elderly patients with HNSCC. Poor tolerance to chemoradiotherapy-related toxicity is a bigger concern in older patients than in younger individuals. Then, we describe toxicities particularly severe in elderly patients and provide an overview of countermeasures in chemotherapy and radiotherapy, particularly with a focus on cisplatin-based chemotherapy (the main treatment for HNSCC). In addition, we describe the molecular target drug therapy and immunotherapy for older patients with HNSCC.