title: Lung cancer chemotherapy decisions in older patients: the role of patient preference and interactions with physicians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lung cancer chemotherapy decisions in patients ≥ 70 years old are complex because of toxicity, comorbidity and the limited data on patient preferences. We examined the relationships between preferences and chemotherapy use in this group of patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a questionnaire describing four hypothetical lung cancer treatment options. Eighty-three elderly (≥ 70 years old) lung cancer patients were informed about their diagnosis and therapeutic choices and then asked to choose one of the four options. Patients had previously been included in a prospective study to explore geriatric evaluation in an oncology unit and all had given written informed consent.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Older patients (n=83) diagnosed with lung cancer (non-small- and small-cell lung cancer) from January 2006 to February 2008 were recruited from a single centre. The mean patient age was 77 years (range: 70-91). Eighty-one patients (97.6%) were men. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was the diagnosis in 63 patients (76%). Most patients selected active treatment (38.6% most survival benefit, 18% less survival benefit) and 31.3% selected no active treatment. Elderly lung cancer patients were significantly more likely to accept aggressive treatments despite high reported toxicities. Although most of the patients were symptomatic at diagnosis, the "symptom relief" option was chosen less frequently than the options that could prolong survival. Factors significantly related to patients' attitude toward chemotherapy were age (p<0.001), frailty (p=0.0039), depression and poor performance status (PS).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elderly lung cancer patients want to be involved in the decision-making process. Survival was the main treatment objective for more than half of the patients in this study. We have not found other published studies about elderly lung cancer patients' decisions about chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Unit, Hospital Lluís Alcanyís, Xátiva, Valencia, Spain. girones_reg@gva.es
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gironés
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Torregrosa
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gómez-Codina
authors.forename: Inma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maestu
authors.forename: Jose María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tenias
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D057240:Patient Preference; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires