Invited responseBased on a competing risk analysis of cause-specific mortality, we recently (1) demonstrated that noncancer-specific mortality is a significant competing event against lung cancer-specific mortality in patients who have undergone curative intent lung resection for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have demonstrated that elderly patients ≥65 years of age had a higher noncancer-specific cumulative incidence of death (CID) compared with lung cancer-specific CID for as long as 2.5 years after resection. This early-phase mortality was relatively higher in patients ≥75 years of age compared with patients 65 to 74 years of age. We also demonstrated that, in contrast with lobectomy, sublobar resection is associated with a lower incidence of severe postoperative morbidity and, in particular respiratory events, is perhaps influenced by the selection bias of choosing sublobar resection for patients with diminished pulmonary function and higher comorbidities. Taylor and Maloney highlighted the potential contribution of our study results in personalizing treatment decisions for elderly patients through consideration of competing risks in those patients (2). Our published results are derived from an analysis of patients treated at a single institution in the United States. In order to broadly apply our approach of using competing risks analysis in the prognostic assessment of patients who will undergo surgical resection for early-stage NSCLC we will compare our study cohort with publications that were focused on cohorts of NSCLC patients from developing nations and Asian countries. We also emphasized the need to consider cardiopulmonary and functional status rather than only age when deciding between sublobar resection and lobectomy for elderly patients.A recent analysis of global cancer incidence and mortality demonstrated that lung cancer ranked highest in the elderly patient population compared with other cancers; this is based on data from 32 cancer groups in 195 countries between 1990 and 2015 (3). Our study demonstrated the importance of competing risks, causespecific mortality analysis that is based on individual patient preoperative variables such as smoking status, comorbidity, and pulmonary function. While applying this analysis to patient cohorts from developing nations and Asian countries, differences in smoking status, air pollution, and incidence of chronic lung comorbidities, such as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) and tuberculosis, should be taken into account (4). Clinicians should also consider the potential differences in "aging" including the physical and social disparities between elderly patients in developed and developing countries. In our study, COPD and smoking history were independent risk factors for severe postoperative morbidity and lung cancer-specific mortality,