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Basic Science of Lung Cancer in Older Patients

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Management of Lung Cancer in Older People

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Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in both men and women, with about 1.61 million new diagnoses and 1.38 million deaths worldwide in 2008. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including squamous carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and undifferentiated large cell carcinoma, accounts for more than 80 % of new lung cancer diagnoses. Unfortunately, at the time of diagnosis, the majority of patients have advanced disease, for which a systemic, palliative treatment is the primary therapeutic option. Considering that 47 % of all lung cancers are diagnosed in patients older than 70 years (14 % in patients older than 80 years), advanced NSCLC in elderly patients is an increasingly common problem, which the practitioner of oncology must face. The relationship between aging and cancer is not clear; considerable controversy surrounds the mechanisms that lead to increased incidence of cancer in the aged. It is worthy to note that frequencies of specific cancers are age-specific.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Seconda Universita degli Studi di Napoli, Naples, Italy

    Morena Fasano MD, Flavia Cantile MD & Floriana Morgillo MD, PhD

  2. Laboratory of Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy

    Fortunato Ciardiello MD, PhD

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  1. Morena Fasano MD
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  2. Flavia Cantile MD
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  3. Floriana Morgillo MD, PhD
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  4. Fortunato Ciardiello MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Fortunato Ciardiello MD, PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Oncology/Hematology, S.G. Moscati Hospital, Contrada Amoretta, Avellino, 83100, Italy

    Cesare Gridelli

  2. St Helens Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool, Marshalls Cross Road, St Helens, WA9 3DA, United Kingdom

    Riccardo A Audisio

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Fasano, M., Cantile, F., Morgillo, F., Ciardiello, F. (2013). Basic Science of Lung Cancer in Older Patients. In: Gridelli, C., Audisio, R. (eds) Management of Lung Cancer in Older People. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-793-8_1

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