Changes in exercise tolerance and quality of life are unrelated in lung cancer survivors who undergo video-assisted thoracic surgery.
Kunihiko Anami, Jun Horie, Yoshiyasu Hirayama and 2 others
PMID 29581673WHAT IT FOUND
In 36 lung cancer survivors after minimally invasive thoracic surgery, changes in walking and strength tests were not related to changes in quality of life.
Grip, walking, and endurance recovered by 4 weeks, but physical quality-of-life scores stayed below baseline.
Key findings
01Changes in physical function measures were not significantly related to changes in SF-36 quality-of-life component scores.
02The physical component summary score remained significantly lower than before surgery at 12 weeks, while the mental component summary score did not change significantly.
03Grip strength, timed up and go, and 6-minute walking distance decreased significantly 1 week after surgery but recovered to preoperative levels by 4 weeks.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 36 of the 47 initially enrolled patients were evaluated, and the authors say quality of life may have been even lower in those excluded. The study was small and preliminary, so the findings should not be treated as proof of how all lung surgery patients recover. Patients did not receive outpatient physical therapy, and the paper does not report how well they followed home exercise instructions. The study did not measure physical activity levels, so it cannot explain whether activity, function, or other factors drove quality of life. The study followed patients over time, so it cannot show that the hospital physical therapy caused the changes.
Declared interests
The study was supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 25750240, and the authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving exercise tolerance after surgery will improve quality of life. The study found no significant relationship between changes in physical function and changes in quality-of-life scores, and the physical component summary score was still significantly lower than before surgery at 12 weeks.