Abstract
Lung cancer is a disease of older adults. In the US and worldwide, more than 60% of patients being diagnosed are over the age of 65 years. The preferred treatment of stage I-II non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is surgical resection. Adjuvant chemotherapy with a platinum-based combination is the standard of care for patients with early-stage NSCLC after surgery. However, there have been no large prospective studies to test the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in the elderly, the population most affected by lung cancer. The available evidence is limited to retrospective reviews of large population databases or post hoc analyses of prospective studies in age-unselected populations. This review aims to address the knowledge gap pertaining to the use of adjuvant chemotherapy in older patients with resected NSCLC. There are many barriers to use of adjuvant chemotherapy in older adults with NSCLC. The utilization of adjuvant chemotherapy amongst older adults has been slow but is improving. While the elderly may tolerate a lower dose intensity of chemotherapy compared with younger patients, they do garner benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. There is a lack of a standardized tool to risk-stratify older patients for adjuvant chemotherapy after resection. Geriatric assessment may help guide decision making in the clinical practice setting. The principles of geriatric assessment and commonly employed tools for such assessment will be reviewed. Further, the emerging therapies in adjuvant treatment of lung cancer based on genetic mutations will be discussed.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.