title: Surgery for elderly lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There are still controversies about the surgical benefits for elderly lung cancer.The aims of this study were to assess impacts of aging for non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) following pulmonary resection.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was undertaken for patients operated at a curative intent from January 1998 to October 2008. Patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 consisted of patients aged at least 75 years old, and group 2 were patients less than 75 years old. Perioperative characteristics and details, hospital courses, surgery-related morbidities, surgical mortality, and survival were compared between groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 442 eligible patients, 73 patients (16.5%) were in group 1 (mean age 78.3 years) and 369 (83.5%) patients were in group 2 (mean age 62.5 years). The following data were compared with statistical significance: hospital stay (17.8 vs. 8.9 days), mortality rate (8.2 vs. 2.2%), morbidity rate (26.0 vs. 13.3%), and length in intensive care unit (5.7 vs. 3.2 days). The main causes for morbidities in group 1 showed cardiopulmonary-related. Tumor stage without considering age had statistically significant influence on survival. Survivals of two groups were comparative. (p= 0.10) Intriguingly, the disease-related survival (28.3 months; p= 0.008) and progression-free survival (25.0 months; p<0.001) in group 1 were significantly better than group 2 (20.2 and 12.2 months).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although operation for NSCLC in the elderly patients causes more complications, especially in the cardiopulmonary system, their outcome showed better than their younger counterparts. Pulmonary resection for elderly patients may get longer disease control. Elderly patients with physical fit for surgery should not be considered as a contraindication to pulmonary resection based on age alone.
authors: Division of Thoracic Surgery, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors: Hung-Chang
authors: HC
authors: Liu
authors: Wen-Chien
authors: WC
authors: Huang
authors: Chien-Liang
authors: CL
authors: Wu
authors: Jung-Tang
authors: JT
authors: Huang
authors: Chih-Hao
authors: CH
authors: Chen
authors: Yu-Jen
authors: YJ
authors: Chen
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018287:Carcinoma, Large Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000401:mortality; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome