Moderate-to-Vigorous Exercise Can Delay Mortality in Inoperable Lung Cancer

MONDAY, Jan. 8, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Higher device-measured moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) is associated with reduced 12-month mortality in people newly diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, according to a study published online Nov. 27 in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.

Vinicius Cavalheri, Ph.D., from Curtin University in Perth, Australia, and colleagues examined device-measured PA and sedentary behavior at the time of diagnosis in people with inoperable lung cancer and investigated PA associations with 12-month mortality. The analysis included 89 participants.

The researchers found that overall, 12-month mortality was 30 percent. However, participants who spent >4.6 minutes/day in MVPA had a lower relative risk of 12-month mortality compared with those who spent ≤4.6 minutes/day in MVPA (hazard ratio, 0.40; 18 versus nine deaths). No other measures of PA/sedentary behavior were associated with 12-month mortality.

"These new findings further indicate that health care providers should investigate a person’s levels of physical activity in early management of inoperable lung cancer," Cavalheri said in a statement. "We also need to evaluate what can be done to encourage people with inoperable lung cancer to exercise more, as 24 percent of the study’s participants engaged in less than one minute per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity."

Abstract/Full Text