• Sarah Schimansky, Samantha Lang, Rhona Beynon, Christopher Penfold, Amy Davies, Andrea Waylen, Steve Thomas, Miranda Pring, Michael Pawlita, Tim Waterboer, and Andy Ness.
• National Institute of Health (NIHR) Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, Nutrition Theme, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
• Head Neck. 2019 Apr 1; 41 (4): 1053-1062.

BackgroundPeople with head and neck cancer have higher comorbidity levels but it remains unclear if pretreatment comorbidity is an independent prognosticator in head and neck cancer.MethodsSurvival analyses were performed using data from participants in a UK multicentre cohort study with cancers of the oral cavity (n = 668), oropharynx (n = 1074), and larynx (n = 530). Survival analyses were incrementally adjusted for age, sex, marital status, income, education, stage, alcohol, and smoking.ResultsAfter adjusting for demographic, clinical, and behavioral confounders, higher baseline comorbidity was associated with reduced overall survival (mild comorbidity HR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1, 1.7; moderate comorbidity HR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.3, 2.2; severe comorbidity HR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.9, 4.; P-trend<.001).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that comorbidity is an independent prognosticator for overall survival in head and neck cancer. Comorbid illnesses should be considered in the assessment and treatment planning of people with head and neck cancer.© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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