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ObjectiveElderly people are less likely than younger patients to undergo curative surgery for early-stage lung cancer because of the greater risk of surgery and postoperative complications. We investigated the relationship between treatment modality and the risk of all-cause and lung cancer-specific mortality to compare the efficacy of surgical treatment with radiotherapy in patients with stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were ≥80 years old.MethodsWe extracted data from the most recent Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 9 registry study database (2010–2017). We mainly selected patients with stage I and II NSCLC who were ≥80 years old, and after screening, 7,045 cases were selected for our study. We used univariate analysis, stratified analysis, and multiple regression equation analysis to examine all-cause mortality and lung cancer-specific mortality in different treatment modalities. The overall and stratified populations' survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan–Meier method. The competing risk regression method of Fine and Gray was used to estimate mortality specific to lung cancer.ResultsIn the fully adjusted model, all-cause mortality was 1.97 times higher in the radiotherapy-only group (hazard ration (HR) = 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.81–2.14, p p ConclusionsSurgery had a higher overall and lung cancer-specific survival rate than radiotherapy and no treatment in the elderly early-stage NSCLC population. For patients with stage I and stage II NSCLC at advanced ages, surgical treatment might have a greater potential survival benefit.

Engineering activities can lead to serious soil erosion problems in red bed areas. To overcome their loose structure, low strength and poor water retention, the red bed weathered soil needs to be modified with adhesives and water-retaining agents. At present, on the premise of applying adhesive, there are few studies on the mechanism of water retention agent to improve soil, and the amount of water retention agent in practical engineering is mainly determined by experience, lacking reliable quantitative basis. Herein, the effects of water-retaining agents on soil quality were quantitatively studied in red bed weathered soil modified by a fixed amount of adhesive. By using shear, permeability, porosity and plant growth tests, we show that the shear strength of the modified soils decreased slightly with increasing resin content, while permeability, porosity and water retention increased, and the growth of plant roots was promoted. Additionally, the processes by which these soil agents improve water retention were investigated, and the control mechanism of the optimum addition amount of water-retaining agent based on the soil water storage and aggregate size was revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) images, and the optimal water-retaining resin dosage for red bed weathered soil modification is proposed. This study provides a quantitative basis for determining water-retaining agent dosage in the red bed areas of South China and similar areas.