Impact of self-reported physical activity and health promotion behaviors on lung cancer survivorship

Abstract

Background: There is some initial evidence that an enhanced physical activity level can improve fquality of life, and possibly survival among patients with lung cancer. The primary aim of this project was to evaluate the impact of physical activity on the quality and quantity of life of lung cancer survivors.

Methods: Between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2009, a total of 1466 lung cancer survivors completed a questionnaire with patient-reported outcomes for quality of life (QOL), demographics, disease and clinical characteristics, and a measure of physical activity (Baecke Questionnaire). Chi-square tests compared lung cancer survivors who reported being physically active versus not on a variety of the other covariates. Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox models evaluated the prognostic importance of physical activity level on Overall Survival (OS).

Results: Roughly half of the lung cancer survivors had advanced stage disease at the time of survey. Treatment prevalence rates were 61, 54, and 33 % for surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, respectively. The majority (77 %) of survivors reported themselves as physically active. Physically active survivors reported greater activity across all individual Baecke items. Lung cancer survivor-reported QOL indicated the benefits of physical activity in all domains. Survivors receiving chemotherapy or radiation at the time of questionnaire completion were less likely to be physically active (74 and 73 % respectively). In contrast, 84 % of surgical patients were physically active. Disease recurrence rates were the same for physically active and inactive patients (81 % vs 82 %, p = 0.62). Physically active patients survived an average of 4 more years than those who were not physically active (8.4 years versus 4.4 years respectively, log rank p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: Being physically active was related to profound advantages in QOL and survival in a large sample of lung cancer survivors.

Fig. 1

Kaplan-Meier survival curves for lung cancer survivors by level of physical activity

Fig. 2

Kaplan-Meier survival curves for lung cancer survivors by stage of disease (early vs late)

Fig. 3

Kaplan-Meier survival curves for lung cancer survivors by type of lung cancer (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer(NSCLC) vs Small Cell Lung Cancer(SCLC))

Fig. 4

Cluster dendogram for lung cancer survivors