In-patient rehabilitation of lung cancer patients--a prospective study

It has not previously been shown whether there is any benefit to multi-morbid patients with lung cancer who participate in complex interdisciplinary rehabilitation programmes after primary therapy. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess changes in exercise capacity and quality of life before and after an in-patient training programme.

Forty-five patients with lung cancer (WHO I-III after surgery and/or radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy) were enrolled in a 28-day in-patient rehabilitation programme that included standardised aerobic training. Functional status and health-related quality of life (QLQ-C30, QLQ-LC13, SF-36, and MFI-20) were examined at the beginning of the study and at day 28.

A substantial increase in work performance (bicycle ergometry from 68 +/- 3 to 86 +/- 4 W, p < 0.001, and 6-minute walk test from 322 +/- 11 to 385 +/- 13 m, p < 0.001) was registered. In addition, heart rate at rest was reduced (from 84 +/- 2 to 80 +/- 1 beats per minute, p < 0.05) and heart rate variability (indicator of the efficacy of endurance training) was significantly increased (from 9.7 +/- 1 to 12.9 +/- 1 root mean square of successive differences, p < 0.001). Moreover, there was also a significant improvement in quality of life (48 +/- 3 to 62 +/- 2, p < 0.001) while fatigue was reduced from 66 +/- 3 to 41 +/- 4, p < 0.001.

A standardised, aerobic endurance training programme as part of the in-patient oncological rehabilitation of patients with lung cancer results in improvements in both physiological and psychological parameters after therapy. A follow-on study in order to determine to what extent this benefit persists over the long-term, particularly, in comparison with patients who have not participated in a rehabilitation programme, is currently being conducted.