Feasibility and Safety of Overtubes for PEG-Tube Placement in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

Table 1

Demographic characteristics of 53 patients with head and neck cancer referred to our department for PEG insertion.

	= 53
Median age, years (range)	59 (32–80)
Gender
Male	39 (73.6%)
Female	14 (26.4%)
Location of HNC
Nasopharynx	15 (28.3%)
Tongue	11 (20.8%)
Tonsillar	10 (18.9%)
Neck	3 (5.7%)
Palate	3 (5.7%)
Hypopharynx	2 (3.8%)
Vocal cords/glottis	2 (3.8%)
Supraglottic	2 (3.8%)
Cervical lymph nodes	2 (3.8%)
Sinus tract	1 (1.9%)
Olfactory	1 (1.9%)
Larynx	1 (1.9%)
Histology of the HNC
Squamous cell carcinoma	51 (96.2%)
Neuroendocrine tumor	1 (1.9%)
Neuroblastoma	1 (1.9%)
Stage of
Stage II	8 (29.6%)
Stage III	12 (44.4%)
Stage IV	7 (25.9%)
Intent of treatment
Curative	52 (98.1%)
Palliative	1 (1.9%)
Type of treatment
Chemoradiotherapy	42 (79.2%)
Surgery + adjuvant chemoradiotherapy	5 (9.4%)
Radiotherapy	3 (5.7%)
Surgery alone	2 (3.8%)
Best supportive care only	1 (1.9%)

HNC: head and neck cancer; PEG: percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.
Complete data on tumor staging was available for 27 (50.9%) patients.