[Surgical excision of lung neoplasms in the elderly. Immediate results]

The authors have analyzed a series of 807 patients who underwent resection for Bronchogenic Carcinoma at the "I Istituto di Clinica Chirurgica" of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" since 1950. The aim of the search was to evaluate the immediate results of surgical treatment in relation to age of the patients. Seventy-one patients were < 65 years old, 91 patients were older. The incidence of post-operative complications and mortality rate (within the 30th day from surgery) was related to the following risk factors: concomitant pulmonary and extrapulmonary diseases, cigarette smoking, laboratory values (red blood cell count, protein electrophoresis, urea nitrogen, glucose), type of lung resection, extent of resection, histology and post-surgical stage. The rates of post-operative complications and mortality were 34.1% and 27.5% in elderly patients, while in younger patients they were respectively 26.3% and 16.2%. In the elderly, cigarette smoking, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, renal failure, type of lung resection and extent of resection, were related to an increase of the post-operative complications and mortality rate. In the younger patients, the extent of resection to adjacent structures was the primary risk factor for immediate results. Screenings in elderly and early diagnosis represent the strategy to allow more conservative surgical treatments and reduction of complications and mortality.