6MWT helps pinpoint ideal candidates for lung resection surgery of NSCLC

A six-minute walk test (6MWT) provides additional information necessary to identify nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who are optimal candidates for lung resection surgery, as shown in a recent study.

Researchers used data from the Coordinate Approach To Cancer patient’s Health for Lung Cancer (CATCH – LUNG) and identified patients who underwent lobectomy for NSCLC and whose ECOG status were 0 or 1. They grouped patients according to predicted postoperative pulmonary function (low-risk or moderate-risk group), with each group further categorized into short-distance (<400 m) or long-distance (≥400 m) groups by 6MWT.

In multivariable logistic regression models, the adjusted odds ratio [OR] for any postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) occurring within the first 30 preoperative day in patients with moderate-risk/short-distance vs low-risk/long-distance was 10.26 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 2.37–44.36). The corresponding adjusted ORs for postoperative cardiac complications and postoperative cardiopulmonary complications were 5.65 (95 percent CI, 1.39–22.90) and 7.84 (95 percent CI, 2.24–27.46).

Among patients in the moderate-risk group, those in the short-distance subgroup had a significantly higher risk of PPC relative to those in the long-distance subgroup (adjusted OR, 4.63, 95 percent CI, 1.08–19.84).

The present data demonstrate the value of 6MWT in deciding the feasibility of surgical resection in NSCLC patients, the researchers said. Specifically, patients with moderate-risk/short-distance are at greater odds of developing postoperative cardiopulmonary complications, but those with moderate-risk/long-distance are more likely to fare well after lobectomy compared with those with low-risk/long-distance.