Prevalence of pre-existing conditions and incidence of new medical conditions after diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer

7152 Background: Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are likely to have concurrent disease that affects treatment/prognosis. Estimates on the: 1) prevalence of pre-existing co-morbidities provides background information for clinical trials and patients, and 2) incidence of new conditions post diagnosis improves understanding of disease progression, treatment effects, and adverse event reports. Methods: Patients aged ≥66 with a primary diagnosis of NSCLC from 1991–1999 were identified in the SEER- Medicare linked database. ICD-9 codes from medical service claims (≥2) were analyzed to estimate comorbidity rates. Results: In the 12 months prior to NSCLC diagnosis, the prevalence for ischemic heart disease, cardiac dysrhythmias, and heart failure were 14%, 9%, and 8% respectively– indicating a substantial proportion of patients who might be poor candidates for surgery or cardio-toxic treatments. These prevalence estimates are likely to underestimate true prevalence due to the 1-year window of obs...