Author of

• 16831

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  P1.06 - Poster Session with Presenters Present (ID 458)

  • Event: WCLC 2016
  • Type: Poster Presenters Present
  • Track: Advanced NSCLC
  • Presentations: 1
  • Moderators:
  • Coordinates: 12/05/2016, 14:30 - 15:45, Hall B (Poster Area)

  • 16878

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    P1.06-047 - Management of Patients Aged over 70 Years with Newly Diagnosed Lung Cancer (ID 4159)

    14:30 - 14:30  |  Author(s): H. Abbas
    • Abstract

    Background:
    Lung cancer is an important cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. It is the third most common cancer in the UK. Due to an increase in life expectancy there is an increase in the proportion of patients greater than 70 years being diagnosed with lung cancer. We looked at the management of patients diagnosed with newly diagnosed lung cancer over a period of 12 months in a large UK Teaching hospital. The main aim of this study was to compare the outcome of various treatment options offered to elderly patients diagnosed with lung cancer.
    
    Methods:
    All individuals diagnosed with lung cancer discussed at specialist thoracic multidisciplinary meeting aged over 70 between September 2014 and September 2015 were identified and retrospectively reviewed. Demographic data, histology, treatment and survival were evaluated
    
    Results:
    123 patients were included in the study, 37% were between 70-74yrs, 39% were between 75-79yrs and 48% were >= 80yrs. The commonest histology was adenocarcinoma which constituted 36.2% followed by squamous cell about 19.3%. Majority of patients were referred from hospital (57%), about 30% were referred from A&E and 12% were referred from GP. In terms of treatment; 52% received best supportive care (BSC), 30% surgery and 17% chemotherapy. Common reasons for patients receiving BSC were: poor performance status (65%), and co-morbidities (21%). Patients who had chemotherapy had improved survival compared to BSC; 5 v.s. 10 months. Node positivity was poor prognostic sign; median survival for N0, N1, N2 and N3 were 17, 10, 5 and 3 months respectively
    
    Conclusion:
    Treating elderly patients with lung cancer is challenging because at the time of diagnosis the tumor is often advanced and furthermore elderly patients often suffer with multiple comorbidites which makes treatment more difficult. In our cohort, patients who received active oncological treatment had improved overall survival. Majority of the patients didnt receive active oncological treatment due to poor perfomance status or co morbidites and hence not fit for treatment. Our data suggests that age should not be considered as a limiting factor for chemotherapy and there is a need for prospective studies to further evaluate active oncological management of older patients, since with careful selection this group can benefit from active treatment.