Chemotherapy of elderly patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

The incidence of lung cancer increases with age, and non-small-cell histoty pes account for approximately 85% of lung cancers in patients aged older th an 65 years. Results of large multicentric trials provide no evidence that elderly lung cancer patients who receive systemic chemotherapy have a worse outcome than younger patients. There is, however, an underrepresentation o f older patients in cancer treatment trials, at least in part due to the st ringent eligibility criteria of these trials. Recent studies specifically d esigned for elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer have shown that chemotherapy improves survival and disease-related symptoms also in this age group. However, the degree of comorbidity was found to affect both the tolerance to treatment and the survival outcome.