Can elderly patients be safely selected for head and neck radiotherapy without formal geriatric or frailty assessment: a retrospective cohort study

1. It is safe to select older patients for radical radiotherapy (RT) delivered with VMAT based on performance status (PS) and comorbidities. 2. Patients 70 years and over are able to tolerate a course of RT for HNC. 3. Older patients can benefit from RT without the use of geriatric assessment and frailty tools. 4. The addition of frailty screening and geriatric assessment tools may identify previously unknown deficits and allow increased AHP support post treatment. 5. PS is the strongest predictor of survival in patients aged 70 and over receiving RT