TY - JOUR
T1 - Adverse events among the elderly receiving chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer
AU - Chrischilles, Elizabeth A.
AU - Pendergast, Jane F.
AU - Kahn, Katherine L.
AU - Wallace, Robert B.
AU - Moga, Daniela C.
AU - Harrington, David P.
AU - Kiefe, Catarina I.
AU - Weeks, Jane C.
AU - West, Dee W.
AU - Zafar, S. Yousuf
AU - Fletcher, Robert H.
PY - 2010/2/1
Y1 - 2010/2/1
N2 - Purpose: To describe chemotherapy use and adverse events (AEs) for advanced-stage, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in community practice, including descriptions according to variation by age. Methods: We interviewed patients with newly diagnosed, stages IIIB and IV NSCLC in the population-based cohort studied by the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium, and we abstracted the patient medical records. AEs were medical events occurring during chemotherapy. Using logistic regression, we assessed the association between age and chemotherapy; with Poisson regression, we estimated event rate ratios and adjusted the analysis for age, sex, ethnicity, radiation therapy, stage, histology, and presence and grade of 27 comorbidities. Results: Of 1,371 patients, 58% (95% CI, 55% to 61%) received chemotherapy and 35% (95% CI, 32% to 38%) had AEs. After adjustment, 72% (95% CI, 65% to 79%) of those younger than 55 years and 47% (95% CI, 42% to 52%) of those age 75 years and older received chemotherapy. Platinum-based therapies were less common in the older-age groups. Pretreatment medical event rates were 18.6% for patients younger than 55 years and were only 9.2% for those age 75 years and older (adjusted rate ratio, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.91). In contrast, older adults were more likely to have AEs during chemotherapy. The adjusted rate ratios compared with age younger than 55 years were 1.70 for 65- to 74-year-olds (95% CI, 1.19 to 2.43) and 1.34 for those age 75 years and older (95% CI, 0.90 to 2.00). Conclusion: Older patients who received chemotherapy had fewer pretherapy events than younger patients and were less likely to receive platinum-based regimens. Nevertheless, older patients had more adverse events during chemotherapy, independent of comorbidity. Potential implicit trade-offs between symptom management and treatment toxicity should be made explicit and additionally studied.
AB - Purpose: To describe chemotherapy use and adverse events (AEs) for advanced-stage, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in community practice, including descriptions according to variation by age. Methods: We interviewed patients with newly diagnosed, stages IIIB and IV NSCLC in the population-based cohort studied by the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium, and we abstracted the patient medical records. AEs were medical events occurring during chemotherapy. Using logistic regression, we assessed the association between age and chemotherapy; with Poisson regression, we estimated event rate ratios and adjusted the analysis for age, sex, ethnicity, radiation therapy, stage, histology, and presence and grade of 27 comorbidities. Results: Of 1,371 patients, 58% (95% CI, 55% to 61%) received chemotherapy and 35% (95% CI, 32% to 38%) had AEs. After adjustment, 72% (95% CI, 65% to 79%) of those younger than 55 years and 47% (95% CI, 42% to 52%) of those age 75 years and older received chemotherapy. Platinum-based therapies were less common in the older-age groups. Pretreatment medical event rates were 18.6% for patients younger than 55 years and were only 9.2% for those age 75 years and older (adjusted rate ratio, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.91). In contrast, older adults were more likely to have AEs during chemotherapy. The adjusted rate ratios compared with age younger than 55 years were 1.70 for 65- to 74-year-olds (95% CI, 1.19 to 2.43) and 1.34 for those age 75 years and older (95% CI, 0.90 to 2.00). Conclusion: Older patients who received chemotherapy had fewer pretherapy events than younger patients and were less likely to receive platinum-based regimens. Nevertheless, older patients had more adverse events during chemotherapy, independent of comorbidity. Potential implicit trade-offs between symptom management and treatment toxicity should be made explicit and additionally studied.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77449086119&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77449086119&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1200/JCO.2009.23.8485
DO - 10.1200/JCO.2009.23.8485
M3 - Article
C2 - 20038726
AN - SCOPUS:77449086119
SN - 0732-183X
VL - 28
SP - 620
EP - 627
JO - Journal of Clinical Oncology
JF - Journal of Clinical Oncology
IS - 4
ER -