NSCLC without Antineoplastic Treatment: Incidence, Characteristics, and Outcome as Outlined in the TYROL Study

The treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has become more and more individualized with the availability of potent and less toxic therapies. However, there are still patients who do not receive antineoplastic treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of 'no treatment', its reasons, and the outcome of untreated NSCLC patients in recent years.

Medical files of 1,256 consecutive NSCLC patients diagnosed between 2001 and 2009 at the Medical University of Innsbruck and affiliated hospitals were retrospectively analyzed.

In 66 of the 1,256 patients (5.3%), the absence of antineoplastic treatment could be ascertained. The median age was 72.1 years, and 42 patients (63.3%) were males. The majority of patients presented with stage IV (n=45; 68.2%). Treatment was omitted due to physical deterioration in 41 patients (62.1%), and 25 patients (37.9%) refused any treatment. The median overall survival of the untreated patients was 3.1 months (refusal: 9.7 months; physical deterioration: 2.1 months).

This study provides information on the incidence of NSCLC patients without antineoplastic treatment and gives a detailed description of the characteristics and comorbidities. These data might help clinicians in the survival estimations of their NSCLC patients in scenarios like therapy refusal or poor physical condition.