Table 1.
Characteristics of the 79 people with inoperable lung cancer included in the study.
| Variable | n | Value 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Age, year | 79 | 70.5 ± 11.1 |
| Sex, female (%)/male (%) | 79 | 29 (37%)/50 (63%) |
| BMI, kg·m−2 | 79 | 25.1 [22.0 to 30.5] |
| Employment status, n (%) | 79 | |
| Disability | 8 (10%) | |
| Retired | 46 (58%) | |
| Part time | 7 (9%) | |
| Full time | 11 (44%) | |
| Homemaker | 1 (1%) | |
| Temporarily unemployed | 6 (8%) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 79 | |
| Current smoker | 19 (24%) | |
| Ex-smoker | 53 (67%) | |
| Never smoked | 7 (9%) | |
| Smoking, pack·years | 72 | 40 [25 to 62] |
| Type of cancer, n (%) | 79 | |
| Non-small cell lung cancer | ||
| Adenocarcinoma | 44 (56%) | |
| Squamous cell carcinoma | 24 (30%) | |
| Large cell | 2 (3%) | |
| Adenosquamous carcinoma | 1 (1.3%) | |
| Small cell lung cancer | 5 (6%) | |
| Poorly differentiated carcinoma/unknown | 1 (1.3%)/2 (2.6%) | |
| NSCLC/SCLC stage, n (%) | 79 | |
| Early (I to IIIA)/limited | 32 (41%) | |
| Advanced (IIIB to IV)/extensive | 47 (59%) | |
| ECOG status, n (%) | 79 | |
| 0 / 1 / 2 | 26 (33%)/40 (51%)/13 (17%) | |
| COPD, n (%) | 79 | |
| Yes | 33 (42%) | |
| No | 41 (52%) | |
| Unsure | 5 (7%) | |
| FEV1, L | 63 | 1.9 ± 0.7 |
| FEV1, %pred | 63 | 72.6 ± 25.1 |
| FVC, L | 63 | 3.0 ± 1.0 |
| FVC, %pred | 63 | 85.3 ± 22.1 |
| FEV1/FVC, % | 63 | 63.1 ± 15.9 |
| HRQoL | 79 | |
| FACT-LCS (0 to 28) | 20 ± 5 | |
| SF-36 PCS (0 to 100) | 44 ± 11 | |
| SF-36 MCS (0 to 100) | 41 ± 10 | |
| EORTC QLQ-C30-GH (0 to 100) | 61 ± 23 | |
| Symptoms | 79 | |
| Fatigue (FACIT-F) | 38 ± 12 | |
| Dyspnoea (mMRC), n (%) | ||
| 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 | 17 (22%)/38 (48%)/16 (20%)/7 (9%)/1 (1%) | |
| Comorbidities | 79 | |
| SCQ Number of comorbidities | 5 ± 4 | |
| SCQ Total score | 10 ± 4 | |
| SCQ comorb. affecting activities | 2 ± 1 | |
| Muscle force | 78 ** | |
| Hand grip force, Nm | 30 ± 9 | |
| Hand grip force, %pred | 94 ± 24 | |
| Blood cell count | 78 ** | |
| Neutrophils, ×109/L | 7 ± 4 | |
| Platelets, ×109/L | 312 ± 136 | |
| Lymphocytes, ×109/L | 2 ± 1 | |
| NLR | 3.2 [2.4 to 5.4] |
1 Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. Lung function data (i.e., FEV1 and FVC) were only available in 63 participants. ** Not assessed for one participant who resided in a rural area in Western Australia and was not seen face-to face. Abbreviations: BMI: Body mass index; ECOG: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group; FACIT-F: Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–fatigue subscale; FACT-LCS: Lung Cancer Subscale of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy; FEV1: Forced expiratory volume in one second; FVC: Forced vital capacity; L: Litres; mMRC: Modified Medical Research Council dyspnoea scale; NLR: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; NSCLC: Non-small cell lung cancer; PA: Physical activity; SCLC: Small cell lung cancer; SCQ: Self-Administered Comorbidities Questionnaire; SF-36 MCS: Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36–Mental Component Score; SF-36 PCS: Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36–Physical Component Score.