Improvement in physical performance and health-related quality of life one year after radical operation for primary or secondary lung cancer

Abstract

Background: Improvement in physical performance and health- related quality of life following lung cancer surgery can be associated with higher survival rates. We aimed to evaluate the course in recovery of physical performance and health-related quality of life after pulmonary resection for lung tumour and examine the potential association between outcomes. Methods: We prospectively assessed 78 individuals microscopically radically operated for lung tumour at Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark. We measured health-related quality of life (SF-36), walking distance (6MWT) and lung function (spirometry) three weeks (baseline), four and twelve months after surgery. SF-36 values were compared to an age-and gender-matched reference population. Results: The mean age was 65 years (SD 9) and 59% were males. Compared to baseline values, we found significant improvements after one year in SF-36 physical and mental component summary components of large effect size (0.8 and 0.9 respectively). Values for both SF-36 summary components were comparable to those of a reference population. The improvement in 6MWT was of moderate effect size (0.6). We found a positive association between 6MWT and the SF-36 domain for physical functioning (β = 0.05, 95% CI [0.00;0.09], p = 0.03) one year after surgery. Conclusion: Patients who were radically operated for lung cancer improved health-related quality of life one year after surgery, reaching values similar to a reference population. The walked distance was positively associated with the subjective perception of physical functioning. The clinical significance of these findings deserves further investigation.