Management of Patients With Lung Cancer and Poor Performance Status

Patients who are able to care for themselves but are unable to perform most work-related activities are considered to have a poor performance status (PS). Individuals who fulfill these criteria constitute a significant proportion of all patients with lung cancer. Patients with lung cancer and a poor PS, irrespective of age, have an increased incidence of adverse effects with therapy and poorer outcomes. Thus, although these individuals must be treated differently, data on optimal approaches for these patients are lacking, because this cohort is underrepresented in conventional clinical trials due to enrollment restrictions. This article presents the available evidence on the treatment of this group of patients with lung cancer. Although patients with PS 2 have worse overall outcomes than patients with good PS, a selected proportion may still benefit from standard therapy. Further trials are needed to identify optimal strategies to treat this group of patients with lung cancer.

Target Audience

This activity has been designated to meet the educational needs of physicians and nurses involved in the management of patients with cancer.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the available evidence on the treatment of patients with lung cancer who are considered to have poor PS
  • Explain alternative treatment options for those patients with comorbidities or poor PS
Additional information
Supporters: 

No commercial support was received for this article.

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 Participation
  • 1.00 Nurse
  • 1.00 Physician
Course opens: 
07/08/2014
Course expires: 
07/08/2015
Cost:
$0.00

Ajeet Gajra, MD
Department of Medicine
Upstate Medical University and VA Medical Center
Syracuse, New York

Alissa S. Marr, MD
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, Nebraska

Apar Kishor Ganti, MD, MS
Department of Medicine
VA Nebraska Western Iowa Health Care System and University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, Nebraska

Available Credit

  • 1.00 Participation
  • 1.00 Nurse
  • 1.00 Physician

Price

Cost:
$0.00
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Required Hardware/software

To access this activity, users will need:

  • A device with an Internet connection
  • Adobe Reader or other PDF reader software for article and certificate viewing/printing