Rogerio C. Lilenbaum, MD, FACP

The benefits of chemotherapy in non–small-cell lung cancer(NSCLC) patients remains, to some extent, restricted to younger patientswith a good performance status (PS). It has long been assumedthat chemotherapy is too toxic and of marginal benefit for elderlyNSCLC patients and those with a PS of 2. Nevertheless, retrospectiveanalyses and more recent prospective trials have suggested that suchpatients enjoy longer survival and a better quality of life when treatedwith chemotherapy. This article will review the data and discuss theirclinical implications.