title: Comparison of survival rate in primary non-small-cell lung cancer among elderly patients treated with radiofrequency ablation, surgery, or chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We retrospectively compared the survival rate in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), surgery, or chemotherapy according to lung cancer staging.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 2000 to 2004, 77 NSCLC patients, all of whom had WHO performance status 0-2 and were >60 years old, were enrolled in a cancer registry and retrospectively evaluated. RFA was performed on patients who had medical contraindications to surgery/unsuitability for surgery, such as advanced lung cancer or refusal of surgery. In the RFA group, 40 patients with inoperable NSCLC underwent RFA under computed tomography (CT) guidance. These included 16 patients with stage I to II cancer and 24 patients with stage III to IV cancer who underwent RFA in an adjuvant setting. In the comparison group (n = 37), 13 patients with stage I to II cancer underwent surgery; 18 patients with stage III to IV cancer underwent chemotherapy; and 6 patients with stage III to IV cancer were not actively treated. The survival curves for RFA, surgery, and chemotherapy in these patients were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median survival times for patients treated with (1) surgery alone and (2) RFA alone for stage I to II lung cancer were 33.8 and 28.2 months, respectively (P = 0.426). Median survival times for patients treated with (1) chemotherapy alone and (2) RFA with chemotherapy for stage III to IV cancer were 29 and 42 months, respectively (P = 0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RFA can be used as an alternative treatment to surgery for older NSCLC patients with stage I to II inoperable cancer and can play a role as adjuvant therapy with chemotherapy for patients with stage III to IV lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul Medical Center, Seoul 134-740, South Korea.
authors.forename: Heon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Gong Yong
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Young Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Gyung Ho
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Yong Chul
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Keun Sang
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome