Age-related muscle loss and walking abilities predict outcomes after lung cancer surgery.

[2greys]

Lung cancer is a major global cause of mortality, reportedly accounting for 1.7 million deaths each year. The most common form of lung cancer is non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and early-stage NSCLCs can often be surgically resected. Unfortunately, some patients still experience poor outcomes after surgical resection, prompting further research on the relationship between a patient's preoperative status and the likelihood of good postoperative outcomes.

Given this need for information, Dr. Shinya Tanaka from the Department of Rehabilitation and Prof. Naoki Ozeki from the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nagoya University, and their colleagues decided to investigate. Previous studies had identified some risk factors for mortality after NSCLC resection, including sarcopenia, which is defined as the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength and predominantly occurs in older individuals. Another known risk factor for unfavorable postoperative outcomes is poor physical performance as measured with the 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) test, which involves measuring how far a patient can walk on a corridor in the span of 6 minutes.

en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/research/...

Journal of Cachexia. Study Paper:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

[Jaybird19]

I think the muscle loss after the past year will apply to many of us and affect all our outcomes whatever the future throws at us. ( And I cannot believe how difficult it is becoming to open bottles and jars,!)

[Annie31 in reply to Jaybird19]

Agree with you one hundred percent! It's definitely having to stop doing the things I was doing which helped my physical and emotional wellbeing has brought me to the state I'm now in. You read so much of this on the forum that you realise you are not imagining this.

[Alberta56 in reply to Jaybird19]

Hear. hear.

[Alberta56]

It's a sobering thought. I hope we can regain some of our muscle strength now the weather's better.