Analysis of the characteristics and prognosis of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in older patients

Patient Preference and Adherence
Ying GaoDong-Li Zhao

Abstract

Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. However, most elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been undertreated and the outcome related to age is controversial. A retrospective analysis was conducted for advanced NSCLC in order to investigate the characteristics and prognosis of older patients. Medical records were collected from 165 patients with NSCLC (stages IIIA-IIIB) who had been treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) or radiotherapy from January 2009 to January 2011. The cases were divided into two age groups 1) patients ≥70 years old; 2) patients <70 years old. There were 73 patients in group I, 92 in group II. Patient characteristics, treatment toxicities, and prognosis were evaluated. Of the 165 patients analyzed, 34 patients (34/73) in group I received concurrent CRT while 47 (47/92) in group II completed that treatment. No significant difference was observed in the reason for patients who discontinued CRT in two groups (P>0.05). In the patients with adenocarcinoma, more cases were found in group II than that in group I; the more squamous cell carcinoma and the more smokers with squamous cell carcinoma were seen in older group (P<0.05). With a ...Continue Reading

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