Elderly patients with advanced NSCLC: The value of geriatric evaluation and the feasibility of CGA alternatives in predicting chemotherapy toxicity

Abstract

Cancer is primarily a disease of the elderly, with the incidence of older patients with cancer expected to increase in the coming years. Despite remarkable advances during the last decade, lung cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) being the dominant (85-90%) subtype. At diagnosis, 50% of NSCLC patients are ≥70 years and 15%, over 80 years of age. Due to their under-representation in clinical trials, current treatment decisions for older patients with cancer are based on a low level of scientific evidence. The little evidence that exists suggests that chemotherapy is effective in elderly NSCLC patients, but also indicates that they are at more risk of chemotherapy toxicity than younger adults. However, if carefully selected and monitored, elderly patients can benefit from standard chemotherapy regimens. The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) has historically been adopted to identify elderly patients who are unfit for chemotherapy, yet in clinical practice this is often not feasible as it is too time-consuming. Two promising new tools have emerged - the CRASH and CARG scores - to assign patients to varying intensities of chemotherapy based on a pre-therapy risk assessment. The strengths and shortcomings of each tool were discussed by a group of six advisors with expertise in the treatment of NSCLC. Based on a literature review and on their personal experience, CRASH and CARG were considered feasible toxicity prediction tools, appropriate for implementation in routine clinical practice, with a potentially high impact in optimizing therapy selection for elderly patients with cancer.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Elderly; Geriatric evaluation; Non-small cell lung cancer; Toxicity.