The impact of the patient's age on the delay of the lung cancer treatment

Introduction > The results from the medical literature regarding the influence of patient's age on the delay of treatment in lung cancer ore controversial in the absence of a consensual definition. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the patient's age on the delay of the lung cancer treatment. Methods > A retrospective monocentric study was performed including patients treated for a lung cancer in our deportment between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015. The delay of treatment was defined by the delay between the first abnormal imaging and the first treatment. The patients were divided into three groups depending on their age: group 1 with <= 60 years old, group 2 between 60 and 70 years old, and group 3 with > 70 years old. The statistical analysis was realized with Pearson's chi-squared and the Anova tests. Results > Two-hundred and forty-six patients were included with a mean age at 65 +/- 10 years. The mean delay of the treatment was 97 +/- 41 days. The mean delay of the treatment in patients with > 70 years old was statically longer than the delay of treatment in patients with <= 60 years old (116 +/- 98 days vs. 76 +/- 65 days, P = 0.04), secondary to an extended time for the lung cancer surgery (129 +/- 75 days vs. 88 +/- 4 days, P = 0.03). Conclusion > In patients with > 70 years old, the delay of treatment is longer than in other groups, secondary to an extended time for the preoperative assessment. An improvement in therapeutic management is necessary in our care system to shorten this delay.