PhD conferral Melissa J.J. Voorn

Keywords: Non-small cell lung cancer, Prehabilitation, Preoperative risk assessment, Patient experience.
 

"Multimodal lifestyle optimization before, during, and after treatment for non-small cell lung cancer From pretreatment assessment to (p)rehabilitation for improving treatment tolerance"

Lung cancer is primarily a disease that occurs in the elderly, as half of all newly diagnosed patients are aged ≥70 years. Patients with a higher risk for treatment complications are often characterized as aged ≥70 years, being physically inactive and/or malnourished, and especially as having a low physiological reserve capacity (low aerobic fitness). Lung cancer treatment is intensive and often associated with complications, delayed recovery, and deterioration in quality of life. Poorer outcomes on physical fitness tests, nutritional status, and geriatric status before treatment are associated with an increased risk of complications after lung cancer treatment.

Patients with a high risk for treatment complications may benefit from prehabilitation and rehabilitation by improving aerobic fitness, treatment tolerance, and quality of life. To make prehabilitation and rehabilitation feasible, programs should be optimally organized by close collaboration between healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations, and by properly informing patients and their loved ones about the purpose and effect of (p)rehabilitation. Furthermore, it is advised to involve loved ones to improve compliance.

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