Table 1.
Characteristics of older lung cancer cohort, SEER-Medicare 2008–2019.
| Characteristics | N or n (%) |
|---|---|
| Number of individuals | 414,016 (100) |
| Number of person-years | 1,211,490 |
| Average years of follow-up | 2.9 |
| Number of deaths during follow up | 319,928 (77.3) |
| Age at diagnosis, y | |
| 65–74 | 217,959 (52.6) |
| 75–79 | 91,701 (22.1) |
| 80–84 | 63,649 (15.4) |
| ≥85 | 40,707 (9.8) |
| Sex | |
| Male | 205,548 (49.6) |
| Female | 208,468 (50.4) |
| Race and ethnicity | |
| White | 356,356 (86.1) |
| Black | 36,914 (8.9) |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 18,982 (4.6) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 1,269 (0.3) |
| Unknown | 495 (0.1) |
| Residential area | |
| Urban | 359,248 (86.8) |
| Rural | 54,768 (13.2) |
| Stage at diagnosis | |
| Localized | 111,026 (26.8) |
| Regional | 99,502 (24.0) |
| Distant | 203,488 (49.1) |
| Histology | |
| SCLC | 46,687 (11.3) |
| NSCLC | 367,329 (88.7) |
| Adenocarcinoma | 201,183 (54.8) |
| Large Cell Carcinoma | 5,810 (1.6) |
| Squamous Cell Carcinoma | 96,817 (26.3) |
| Other NSCLC | 63,519 (17.3) |
| First course treatment | |
| Surgery | 76,978 (18.6) |
| Chemotherapy | 112,632 (27.2) |
| Radiotherapy | 94,732 (22.9) |
| Number of any of the 6 comorbidities a | |
| 0 | 179,523 (43.4) |
| 1 | 98,720 (23.8) |
| 2 | 70,341 (17.0) |
| ≥3 | 65,432 (15.8) |
| Comorbidity b | |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 203,478 (49.1) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 130,251 (31.5) |
| Congestive heart failure | 120,982 (29.2) |
| Diabetes | 113,999 (27.5) |
| Stroke | 39,181 (9.5) |
| Acute myocardial infarction | 14,057 (3.4) |
| Behavioral disorders b | |
| Tobacco use disorder | 86650 (20.9) |
| Alcohol use disorder | 13,918 (3.4) |
| Drug use disorder | 11,879 (2.9) |
Note: SCLC, small cell lung cancer; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer.
a
This variable was calculated according to the presence of six comorbidities, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, diabetes, stroke, and chronic kidney disease, at the time of diagnosis.
b
These data were defined as the presence at diagnosis and during follow-up.