Management of lung cancer in elderly population: A mono-centric retrospective study at University Hospital of Caen, Normandy, France.

Abstract

e21573 Background: Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and its incidence is increasing in the elderly patient population. Management of these population is not as well codified as that of younger patients due to their under-representation in clinical trials. The objective of this study is to assess the clinical characteristics, diagnostics and treatments in our population at the University Hospital of Caen (CHU). Methods: It was a retrospective monocentric study including all patients over 75 years old who were diagnosed with a lung cancer between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017 in our center of Caen. We analyzed epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic criteria. We evaluated the overall survival and according to the type of treatment used, the identification of factors of poor prognosis. Adverse events in that specific population of patients were analyzed. We also looked at the correlation between length of hospitalization and survival data. Results: 132 patients aged 75 to 95 years were included, with a large predominance of men. Almost 90% of our patients had comorbidities. The median survival of the entire population was 7 months. Factors identified as significantly influencing survival are the initiation of a specific cancer treatment, performans status, undernutrition, presence of comorbidities, age, stage of disease, and hospitalization at diagnosis. 58.9% of our patients received treatment including 60% chemotherapy and 17.7% surgery. 52% of patients treated with chemotherapy had Grade 3-4 toxicities. None of the patients treated with targeted therapy had any major side effects. 67.4% of our patients were hospitalized for diagnosis. The percentage of survival time spent in hospital is also significantly higher in the best supportive care group with a rate of 69% versus 25%. 14 patients had a diagnosis of early stage lung cancer. Surgery and radiotherapy were performed and were well tolerated. Conclusions: The elderly population with lung cancer managed in our center is highly diagnosed at an advanced stage and has many associated comorbidities affecting survival. Performans status, nutritional condition and inaugural hospitalization are factors of poor prognosis leading to exclusive palliative care. However, in early stages disease radical treatment good be performed and be well tolerated.