COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUNG AND OLD PATIENTS WITH LUNG CANCER

Lung cancer is a common malignancy in China. The majority of cases of lung cancer were diagnosed inpatients more than 40 years old. There are few datacomparing clinical characteristics, disease status,treatment modality of very young (≤40 years) vs very old (≥70 years) patients in China. This study was designed as retrospective review of all lung cancer patients referred to the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital (SRRSH) over a 6-year period to compare demographic data, disease status, or treatme…

Comparison between young and old patients with lung cancer

Objective: To compare the clinical characteristics,histological types, stage at diagnosis and treatment between young (< or = 40 years) and older (> or = 70 years) patients with lung cancer. Methods: The study was designed as aretrospective review of 808 lung cancer patients referred to the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital over a 6-year period from 1995 to 2001. Data regarding demographics, presentationsymptoms, histology, tumor staging, and treatmentmodality were obtained from all patients. Results: Wefound significantly more female patients andadenocarcinoma in the younger group compared with the older patients. Cough was the most common presentingsymptom in both the younger and older groups followed by dyspnea, hemoptysis in the older group or chest pain in the younger group. There was no difference in the stage ofdisease at initial presentation between the younger andolder groups. The young patients tended to receiveaggressive treatment more readily than the older patients, and the older patients frequently received supportive care only. Conclusion: The female sex and adenocarcinoma were predominant in young patients compared with the olderpatients. Young patients tended to receive more aggressive treatment and may have better survival.