Lung cancer in the elderly.

Lung cancer is the most common malignancy in the elderly population and was responsible for greater than 125,000 deaths in 1985. Although advances have been made in the areas of diagnosis and staging, the long-term outlook for the disease remains poor, primarily because of dissemination of disease prior to diagnosis. Despite this, several studies suggest that lung cancer in the elderly is a more indolent disease process, which should be treated in the same manner as it is in the young population.