Elderly patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer are not likely to receive chemotherapy, and platinum-based doublet regimens in particular, despite their clear survival benefits, according to a study published online March 29 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Amy J. Davidoff, Ph.D., from the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and colleagues analyzed data from 21,285 patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer, of whom 25.8 percent received first-line chemotherapy, with a focus on outcomes after platinum-doublet therapy (two-drug platinum-based regimens) compared with single-agent therapy.