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

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics,surgical treatment and prognosis of nonsmall 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 sublobectomy (P<0.05).Postoperative mortality was 3.8%(2/52).Pathological TNM staging:Ⅰa 27 cases(51.9%),Ⅰb 12 cases(23.1%),Ⅱa 8 cases(15.4%),Ⅱb 3 cases(5.8%) andⅢ2 cases(3.8%). The 1-,3- and 5-year survival rate after operation was 87.1%,59.8%,19.1%.The 1-,3- and 5-year survival rate was 86.0%,61.8%,21.5%in the patients after lobectomy,that was 89.0%,58.3%, 18.7%in the patients after sub-lobectomy,with no significant difference between two surgical methods(P>0.05).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.