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The Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Elderly Patients with Lung Cancer Diagnosed in Daegu and Gyeongsangbukdo  

Kim, Hyun Sook (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu)
Hyun, Dae Sung (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu)
Kim, Kyung Chan (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu)
Lee, Sang Chae (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu)
Jung, Tae Hoon (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University)
Park, Jae Yong (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University)
Kim, Chang Ho (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University)
Cha, Seung Ick (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University)
Lee, Kwan Ho (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University)
Chung, Jin Hong (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University)
Shin, Kyeong Cheol (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University)
Jeon, Young June (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Keimyung University)
Han, Seong Beom (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Keimyung University)
Choi, Won Il (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Keimyung University)
Kim, Yeun Jae (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Daegu Fatima Hospital)
Chung, Chi Young (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Daegu Fatima Hospital)
Lim, Geon Il (Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University)
Publication Information
Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases / v.65, no.1, 2008 , pp. 15-22 More about this Journal
Abstract
Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in South Korea since the year 2000 and it is more common in elderly patients, with a peak incidence at around 70~80 years of age. However, these elderly patients receive treatment less often than do the younger patients because of organ dysfunction related to their age and their comorbidities, and they show poor tolerance to chemotherapy. The aims of this study were to analyze the clinical characteristics and treatment-related survival of elderly patients with lung cancer. Methods: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the clinical data of 706 lung cancer patients who were diagnosed at hospitals in Daegu and Gyeongsangbukdo from January 2005 to December 2005. We compared the clinical characteristics and outcomes of the patients who were aged 70 years and older (elderly patients) with those clinical characteristics and outcomes of the younger individuals. Results: The median age of the patients was 68 years (from 29 to 93) and the elderly patients were 38.7% (n=273) of all the study's patients. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common type of lung cancer in both the elderly and younger patient groups. Elderly patients had more symptoms of dyspnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than the younger patients (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). A good performance status (ECOG 0-1) was less common for the elderly patients (p<0.001). The median survival of the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients was significantly higher in the younger patient group than in the elderly patient group (962 days vs 298 days, respectively, p=0.001). However, the median survival of the NSCLC patients who received any treatment showed no significant difference between the younger patient group and the elderly patient group (1,109 days vs 708 days, respectively, p=0.14). Conclusion: Our data showed that appropriate treatment for selected elderly patients improved the survival of patients with NSCLC. Therefore, elderly NSCLC patients with a good performance status should be encouraged to receive appropriate treatment.
Keywords
Elderly patients; Lung cancer;
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