Doctors should not automatically rule out surgery for octogenarians with early-stage lung cancer, according to a new study that challenges longstanding assumptions about age and cancer treatment and could affect future guidelines.

In some cases, people over age 80 can safely undergo potentially curative surgery for these tumors and achieve outcomes comparable to those in younger patients, researchers reported in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas.

“As our population ages, more patients over 80 are being diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer, yet they are often not considered for surgery,” study leader Dr. Raja Flores of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York said in a statement.

“Our findings show that when patients are carefully selected based on their overall health, not just their age, they can tolerate surgery well and experience excellent long-term outcomes.”

The study followed 884 patients who had surgery for early-stage lung cancer, including some who were at least 80 years old.

Five years later, the survival rate among the 114 older patients ages 81 to 85 was 84.2%, statistically similar to the 87.3% survival rate among the younger patients.

While some of the older patients had more postoperative complications, most patients in both groups felt better over time, and their quality of life improved within a year, the researchers reported.

The findings suggest that lung-cancer screening guidelines should include patients who are over 80 years old, the researchers said.

“Our study highlights the importance of making sure all patients are evaluated based on their overall health, not just their age,” study coauthor Dr. Emanuela Taioli, also of the Icahn School of Medicine, said in a statement.

“We must ensure that effective treatments are available to everyone who can benefit from them. Older adults are often left out of clinical decisions, but our findings show they should have equal access to care that can improve survival and quality of life.”