Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Elderly Patients with Early-stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective: Early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) constitutes approximately 25-30% of newly diagnosed lung cancers. Elderly patients with NSCLC have generallly been underrepresented in clinical studies. We explored adjuvant chemotherapy results in patients > 65 years with early-stage NSCLC. Methods: The medical records of 111 elderly patients with early-stage NSCLC were reviewed retrospectively. Collected data included demographic information, clinical assessments and information on treatment. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and prognostic factors were evaluated with log-rank and Cox regression tests. Results: The median disease-free survival (DFS) was 22.6 months. In univariate analysis, significant association between stage, performance score (PS), adjuvant chemotherapy and DFS was detected (p<0.05). Stage, PS and adjuvant chemotherapy were found to have significant effects on overall survival (OS) (p<0.05). The median survival for the entire group was 41.6 months. Multivariate analysis showed that stage, PS and adjuvant chemotherapy affected both DFS and OS. Conclusion: Survival of elderly patients with early-stage NSCLC was significantly influenced by stage, PS and adjuvant chemotherapy. These factors, rather than age, should be considered in the treatment planning for elderly patients with NSCLC.