A Model-Based Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of an Exercise Program for Lung Cancer Survivors After Curative-Intent Treatment.

The study did not enroll lung cancer survivors or test the exercise program. It simulated costs and health outcomes using published data. The exercise program's health benefit and costs were taken from older adults without cancer, so they may not apply to lung cancer survivors. The probability of increasing exercise was taken from breast cancer survivors, not lung cancer survivors. Survival data came from patients who had lung cancer resection surgery, so results may not apply to patients treated with radiation or chemoradiation. The model did not include possible harms of exercise, benefits on aging, chronic disease control, emotional well-being, independence, social function, health care use, or immune checkpoint blockade costs. The authors state there is no definitive randomized trial of this exercise program in stage I-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer. Societal costs may be overestimated because exercise can be a leisure activity that does not cause productivity loss.

All authors declared no conflict of interest.

Do not read this as proof that exercise improves survival or reduces costs in lung cancer survivors. It is a simulation, and the authors state they lack a definitive randomized trial of this exercise program in stage I-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer.