New surgical options for elderly lung cancer patients

To understand the size of the aging population in the United States, the im minent need to include the elderly in clinical studies oil lung cancer, and the safe potential of video-assisted thoracic surgery, and to change aware ness of the elderly's need for and ability to undergo treatment for lung ca ncer, clinical studies of video-assisted thoracic surgery in patients great er than or equal to 70 years of age are presented. The elderly are a fast-g rowing part of the American population who are at high risk for lung cancer and should be included in clinical studies. Age alone should not be a cont radiction to thoracic surgical interventions when video thoracoscopy is per formed as treatment.