Surgical treatment and prognosis of octogenarians with non-small cell lung cancer

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the clinical characteristics, surgical treatment and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) among elderly patients over 80 years.@*METHODS@#The clinical data, surgical methods, perioperative management, postoperative complications and prognosis of 52 NSCLC patients aged over 80 years were retrospectively analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Out of 52 cases, 27 had a long-term smoking history (51.9%) and 44 were with other diseases (84.6%). Lobectomy was done in 32 cases (65.4%), sub-lobectomy in 20 cases (38.5%), including pulmonary wedge resection in 16 cases (30.8%) and lung segment resection in 4 cases (7.7%). The postoperative complication rate was 44.2% (23/52); the complication rate after lobectomy was 62.5% (20/32) and that after sub-lobectomy was 25% (5/20), with significant difference between lobectomy and sub-lobectomy (P0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Octogenarians with NSCLC are often afflicted with comorbidity, so perioperative management is more complex. Strictly adhering to indications, surgery is still an important treatment of NSCLC patients over 80.