Description
Cancer is of increasing importance in the elderly population. With an increase in incidence comes an inevitable rise in the number of older people with lung cancer. Despite evidence that bronchoscopy is safe older patients are less likely to be investigated and, partly as a result of this, are less likely to have a histopathological diagnosis.
In older patients in whom a diagnosis is made ante mortem, surgery and radiotherapy may provide the only method of cure. However, older patients are less likely to receive definitive therapy. This paper provides evidence for the suitability of older patients to undergo investigations when lung cancer is suspected and provides data from series where older patients were treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery.
