Why the study?
Is lung resection surgery safe and effective for elderly patients with lung cancer?
Is lung resection surgery safe and effective for elderly patients with lung cancer?
Advanced age alone is not an absolute contraindication for lung resection in early-stage lung cancer, though pneumonectomy carries a higher mortality risk in the elderly.
Supports offering lobectomy or wedge resection to selected patients over 80 with stage I disease; extends evidence against age-based exclusion from curative surgery.
Age 1. Perioperative morbidity increases with advancing age. Elderly patients undergoing lung resection are more likely to require intensive perioperative support. Preoperatively, a careful assessment of co-morbidity needs to be made. [B] 2. Surgery for clinically stage I and II disease can be as eVective in patients over 70 years as in younger patients. Such patients should be considered for surgical treatment regardless of age. [B] 3. Age over 80 alone is not a contraindication to lobectomy or wedge resection for clinically stage I disease. [B] 4. Pneumonectomy is associated with a higher mortality risk in the elderly. Age should be a factor in deciding suitability for pneumonectomy. [B] 90 BTS/SCTS www.thoraxjnl.com
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British Thoracic Society (2001) studied this question.
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