ASCO 2016: Melisa Wong Discusses Treatment of NSCLC Recurrence

Melisa Wong, MD, Oncology Chief Fellow, Hematology/Oncology, Aging Research T32 Fellow, University of California San Francisco Geriatrics, discusses an analysis of age and comorbidity on treatment of non-small cell lung cancer recurrence. Wong presented this analysis at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Lung cancer causes more deaths in the US than any other cancer. Even when diagnosed and treated early, Wong says, it still comes back in 30-75% of patients. Further, this issue is critical because patients will often ask their oncologist or oncology nurse about recurrence after initial diagnosis.

In this analysis, researchers collected data on 9,000 patients with stage I-III disease and analyzed if and where the cancer came back and how the patient was treated. Patients were grouped by active care (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or some combination of the three) and best supportive care.

Researchers found that older adults are less likely to receive active treatment for lung cancer recurrence, even when controlling other medical problems.