Outcome Prediction in Older Adults With Head and Neck Cancer Undergoing Chemoradiation

Can artificial neural networks (ANNs) accurately predict overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in older adults with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) undergoing radiotherapy with concurrent systemic therapy?In this cohort study including 898 in the OS analysis and 945 in the PFS analysis, 2 ANNs (1 for OS and 1 for PFS) were developed and externally validated. Both models effectively stratified patients into high-risk and low-risk groups with different survival.ANN-based models using routinely available clinical data may support individualized risk assessment and personalized treatment decisions in older adults with HNSCC.

Corresponding Author: Alexander Rühle, MD, MHBA, Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Robert-Koch-Str 3, 79106 Freiburg, Germany (alexander.ruehle@uniklinik-freiburg.de).

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