title: Non small cell lung cancer in the elderly: clinico-pathologic, management and outcome characteristics in comparison to younger patients.
abstract: It is controversial whether non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the elderly constitutes a distinct clinico-biological entity compared to younger counterparts. As reported data are scant and discordant, we sought to analyze retrospectively the medical records of Hellenic NSCLC patients aged >70 years and compare them with those of age (70-45 years) and younger (<45 years) patients. Records were abstracted from the Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group (HeCOG) cancer registry database. Presentation, management and outcome data of 417 elderly patients aged > or =70, 1374 age 70-45 years old and 115 patients aged < or =45 years old with histologically confirmed NSCLC managed from 1989 until 2004 were retrieved and compared. Elderly patients differed significantly in terms of presence of symptoms (p<0.001), including thoracic pain (p=0.003), dyspnea (p<0.001), cough (p<0.001) and fatigue (p<0.001), eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (PS) 2-3 (p<0.001), and histological type (more commonly diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (p<0.002) and less frequently with adenocarcinoma). Although elderly patients had significantly higher rates of PS 2-3, they had significantly better median time to disease progression (TTP) compared to the younger counterpart (6.4 versus 4.3 months p=0.047). Overall survival (OS) was not significantly different between elderly and young patients (median OS 11.8 versus 11.5 months; p=0.6), but platinum-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy were variables associated favorably with TTP and survival in the elderly. This large retrospective series presents strong evidence that NSCLC constitutes a similar clinicopathologic entity in elderly and young individuals with discretely differing biological behavior and that elderly symptomatic patients should be considered for effective anticancer treatment whenever possible.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine Propaedeutic, Attikon University Hospital, Athens University, Athens, Greece. akoumari@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koumarianou
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fountzilas
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kosmidis
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Klouvas
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Samantas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kalofonos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pentheroudakis
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Economopoulos
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pectasides
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018287:Carcinoma, Large Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012042:Registries; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome