Non-small-cell lung cancer in the elderly with an emphasis on chemotherapy in the adjuvant and metastatic disease settings

Most lung cancer patients in the USA are older than 65 years of age, and yet oncologists continue to struggle with how best to treat these older patients. This article reviews the medical management of non-small-cell lung cancer in older patients with a focus on decision-making with respect to chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting and metastatic disease settings. In these two settings, chemotherapy as a single-modality intervention can provide a major positive impact. Nonetheless, a relative dearth of evidence in these settings underscores the need to summarize the available data in an effort to make patient counseling easier for healthcare providers and to make decision-making easier for patients and their families.