Surgical resection of lung cancer in the elderly.

Assessment for thoracic surgery in elderly patients should be based on physiologic rather than chronologic age. Thoracic surgery has been shown to be safe in selected elderly patients, and age should not be a contraindication to a therapy that offers the best chance of cure for patients with early-stage cancer. A targeted preoperative assessment can help individualize the risk of morbidity and mortality for each patient, and thus provide both surgeon and patient with the information needed for operative decision making.