Clinical significance of the G8 screening tool in elderly patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objectives: The present study investigated the clinical significance of the G8 screening tool in elderly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients using a multicenter analysis. Materials and methods: The medical records of 438 primary OSCC patients aged 75 years and older were retrospectively reviewed. To examine the clinical significance of the G8 screening tool in elderly OSCC patients, self-reliance (SR) rates and prognostic factors were statistically analyzed. Results: The mean score of the G8 screening tool was 10.9 ± 2.93. The SR cut-off value of the G8 score was 9.5 in a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Five-year overall survival rates were 40.1% in patients with a G8 score < 9.5 and 58.4% in those with a G8 score ≥ 9.5 (p < 0.01). Five-year cancer-specific rates were 34.3% in patients with a G8 score < 9.5 and 55.7% in those with a G8 score ≥ 9.5 (p < 0.01). Five-year SR rates were 40.7% in patients with a G8 score < 9.5 and 55.3% in those with a G8 score ≥ 9.5 (p < 0.05). A multivariate analysis identified an advanced age (≥ 80 vs < 80; HR, 1.437; 95%CI, 1.181–1.843; p < 0.01), poorer ECOG-PS (2–4 vs 0–1; HR, 1.560; 95%CI, 1.14–2.106; p < 0.01), and standard treatment (non-standard therapy vs standard therapy; HR, 0.598; 95%CI, 0.405–0.910; p < 0.05) as significant independent prognostic factors for SR. A lower G8 score was associated with poorer SR (≥ 9.5 vs < 9.5; HR, 0.765; 95%CI, 0.575–1.034; p = 0.081). Conclusion: The clinical significance of the G8 score for elderly OSCC patients was demonstrated and its combination with ECOG-PS may be useful for assessing their prognoses.