美国国家公共电台 NPR Older Patients Can Benefit From Lung Cancer Surgery

Older Patients Can Benefit From Lung Cancer Surgery

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Now let's talk about one struggle for many older people - lung cancer. The average age at diagnosis 3 is 70. And frequently, these patients are not offered surgery as a treatment. Well, now a study from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York finds that surgery can be successful for the majority of older patients. Here's NPR's Patti Neighmond.

PATTI NEIGHMOND, BYLINE 4: Every year when Morton Pollner had his checkup, he worried doctors would find something on his lung. For years, they didn't. Then, he says, his luck ran out.

MORTON POLLNER: My reaction was, well, you smoked for 30 years. You got away with it for another 30 years, and this is it. I figured it was a death sentence.

NEIGHMOND: But it turns out Pollner was still in luck. The cancer had not spread. And at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, doctors offered to do surgery.

POLLNER: There was a very good possibility that after this surgery I'd be able to lead a normal life. And it's worked out.

NEIGHMOND: That was seven years ago. Today, Pollner's 82 and cancer free. His surgeon, Dr. Prasad Adusumilli, says older patients frequently aren't offered surgery. In part, he says, that's because of a mindset that lung cancer, even in early stages, is a death sentence.

PRASAD ADUSUMILLI: The patient is elderly. So both the patient, all the family members and the referral physician may think that patient may not tolerate surgery.

NEIGHMOND: And so they get referred for supportive care to control symptoms but not to cure the cancer. In a study, Adusumilli looked at more than 2,000 older patients with early stage lung cancer. He found a surprising number did quite well after surgery.

ADUSUMILLI: Even at five years, almost 9 out of 10 patients are alive, and they're free of lung cancer.

ADUSUMILLI: Now, surgery isn't necessarily the answer for all older lung cancer patients. Those with heart conditions or other health problems may not be candidates. Even so, Adusumilli's findings show when it comes to surgery for early stage lung cancer, age should not be the limiting factor.

ADUSUMILLI: Lung cancer surgery can be done safely on these patients, and they did well and they beat their lung cancer.

NEIGHMOND: Beating lung cancer sounds almost unreal for patients like Morton Pollner who had thought his time was up.

POLLNER: Whatever I get, it's like gravy 5.

NEIGHMOND: The findings of the study are especially important considering increasing lifespans and the growing number of older people in the U.S. Patti Neighmond, NPR News.