Introduction: Therapeutic decisions are difficult in elderly patients because of the heterogeneity of this population. Our objective was to evaluate the role of age in the management of patients suffering from primary lung cancer seen in the department of respiratory diseases of the Limoges regional teaching hospital between 2002 and 2004.
Methods: A cross sectional study analysed the management of 363 patients suffering from primary lung cancer. The patients were divided into two groups according to their age (less than seventy or seventy and over). A comparison was made between the management of the two groups.
Results: The comparisons according to age produced evidence of reduced activity, greater dependence, an increased Charlson score, less frequently administered radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and more frequent symptomatic treatment in the elderly group (p<0.001).
Conclusions: The geriatric assessment of patients suffering from primary lung cancer should make allowance for the physiological age of the patient and adapt the management to ensure the best quality of life.