Changes in treatment patterns and survival in elderly patients with stage I non-small-cell lung cancer with the introduction of stereotactic body radiotherapy and video-assisted thoracic surgery

Background: The optimal treatment of elderly patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains elusive. Still, the introduction of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may have led to more elderly receiving treatment and improved median overall survival (OS). Materials and methods: We analysed data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry of 2168 patients >= 65 years with clinical stage I NSCLC and distinguished two periods: 2004-2008 (A) and 2009-2013 (B). The analyses focussed on treatment patterns and median OS for patients recei... Mehr ...