Lobectomy, sublobar resection, and stereotactic radiation for early-stage non-small cell lung cancers in the elderly.

7555 Background: Early-stage non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) among the elderly are expected to rise dramatically due to demographic trends and CT screening. However, no modern trials have compared the most commonly delivered treatments. Therefore, we determined clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with three definitive therapies for early-stage NSCLC in the elderly population. Methods: The SEER–Medicare database was used to compare the outcomes of 9,093 patients with early-stage, node-negative NSCLC who underwent treatment with lobectomy, sublobar resection, or stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) between 2003 and 2009. Overall survival and lung-cancer specific survival were compared using Medicare claims through December 2012. Proportional hazards regression and propensity score matching (PSM) were used to adjust outcomes for key patient, tumor, and practice environment factors. Results: Median age was 75 years, and treatment distribution was as follows: Lobectomy (79.4%), sublobar rese...