Lung cancer was the most common cancer-related death in the world. Non-small cell lung cancer was diagnosed in 85% of patients (NSCLC). Patients over the age of 75 make up over a third of the population; however, they are underrepresented in clinical studies. For a study, the researchers sought to compare the effects of therapy in elderly individuals with non-operable stage III NSCLC to their younger counterparts. A cohort study was conducted in the past. Patients were split into 3 groups: those under the age of 65, those between the ages of 65 and 75, and those aged 75 and up. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus sequential chemoradiotherapy. The most important result was survival. Logistic regression was used to do a subanalysis for the existence of toxicity. 750 individuals were diagnosed with stage III NSCLC and received chemoradiotherapy either concurrently (442) or sequentially (308). Even when age was considered, concurrent chemoradiotherapy has a lower HR of death of 0.72 (0.560-0.85) than sequential chemoradiotherapy. Therefore, the risk of harm in elderly patients getting concomitant chemoradiotherapy was not significantly higher. Compared with sequential chemoradiotherapy, patients of all ages with stage III NSCLC benefit from concurrent chemoradiotherapy. In this case, age was not a decisive factor, and the patients did not suffer from more severe toxicity than their younger counterparts.
Link:www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1525730421002916
