Small-cell Lung Cancer in Very Elderly (≥ 80 Years) Patients

This analysis was performed to describe the outcome of very elderly (≥ 80 years) patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) as there is no published data regarding these patients. One hundred forty-six very elderly patients with SCLC were identified from the Institutional Lung Cancer Database ranging in age from 80 to 92 years (median, 82 years). Of these, 47 (32%) patients had limited-stage SCLC (L-SCLC), and 99 (68%) had extensive-stage SCLC (E-SCLC). All were Caucasian, and the majority (64%) were female. Sixty-seven (46%) patients had Zubrod performance status (PS) of 0 to 1. Of the 146 patients, 44 (30%) received no therapy, 65 (45%) received chemotherapy alone, 27 (19%) received chemotherapy plus local therapy (thoracic radiotherapy [TRT] or surgery), and 10 (7%) received local therapy alone. The median survival was 5.4 months. On univariable analysis, age (P = .019), stage (L-SCLC vs. E-SCLC; P = .0002), PS (P < .0001), and treatment option (P < .0001) were associated with survival. On multivariable analysis, stage (P = .011), PS (P = .029), and treatment option (P < .0001) maintained significance. For entire cohort, the median survival was 1.3 months without active therapy, 6 months with local therapy alone, 7.2 months with chemotherapy alone, and 14.4 months with chemotherapy plus local therapy (P