Age at diagnosis predicts outcomes in gefitinib-treated female patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

We performed this retrospective study to evaluate the association between age at diagnosis and outcome in female patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, who were treated with gefitinib. We analyzed the outcomes for 162 female patients who had received gefitinib monotherapy. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to select a cutoff value for age with respect to tumor response. Patients were categorized as older and younger, with a value of 55 years. Most of the study population comprised never-smokers (89%) and patients with adenocarcinoma (82%). The mean age was 58 years and the response rate was 47% (76 patients). Older female patients showed higher response rates than younger patients (57% and 27%, respectively; P < 0.001), whereas there were no differences between never-smokers and smokers (P = 0.824). Patients with adenocarcinoma had better response rates than those with nonadenocarinoma but this difference was not significant (50% and 34%, respectively; P = 0.139). In terms of progression-free survival, older age (P = 0.005) and adenocarcinoma histology (P = 0.008) were favorable factors but never-smoking was not (P = 0.316). Multivariate analysis confirmed that age predicted progression-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.60; P = 0.008) and overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.60; P = 0.014). Our data indicate that age at diagnosis may predict outcomes after gefitinib treatment in female patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. When molecular tests are not feasible, our results might help physician to select a beneficial subgroup in female patients.