title: Clinical features and prognostic factors in elderly koreans with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in a tertiary referral hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  More than half of cases for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) occur in elderly patients with a median age at diagnosis of 70 years. The aim of our study was to examine the clinical features and prognostic factors contributing to mortality in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Following a retrospective review of clinical data, 122 patients aged 70 years and over with a histopathological diagnosis of locally advanced (stage IIIB, n=32) and metastatic (stage IV, n=90) NSCLC between 2005 and 2011 were enrolled.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median age was 76 years (interquartile range, [IQR], 72-80 years), and 85 (70%) patients were male. Fifty-seven (46%) patients had never smoked, and 17 (19%) were in a malnourished state with a body mass index (BMI) of <18.5 kg/m(2). The initial treatments included chemotherapy (40%) and radiotherapy (7%), but 57% of the patients received supportive care only. The 1-year survival rate was 32%, and the 3-year survival rate was 4%, with a median survival duration of 6.2 months (IQR, 2.5-15.3 months). Male gender (hazard ratio [HR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-3.9; p=0.005), low BMI (HR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.3-3.9; p=0.004), and supportive care only (HR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.2-2.9; p=0.007) were independent predictors of shorter survival based on a Cox proportional hazards model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elderly patients with advanced NSCLC had a poor prognosis, particularly male patients, those with a low BMI, and those who received supportive care only.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Ewha Medical Center and Ewha Medical Research Institute, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seo Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Mi Yeon
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yoon Pyo
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yon Ju
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Seok Jeong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Hwa
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jung Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Sung Shine
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Shim
keywords: Aged; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Mortality; Prognosis
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