Fatigue and physical functioning after NSCLC surgery

Fatigue is an important symptom in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following surgery. This highlights the need to investigate whether improving physical functioning could help reduce fatigue. Francesca van Hulle, a PhD candidate at Ghent University, presented a poster at ERS 2026 in Barcelona examining the association between physical functioning and fatigue in this patient population.

The study included 67 patients with NSCLC, assessed between one and 12 months after surgery, with or without neoadjuvant treatment. Fatigue was evaluated using the 13-item FACIT-F questionnaire, while physical functioning was assessed through daily step count, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and six-minute walk distance (6MWD). Approximately 30% of participants had clinically relevant fatigue at baseline.

Among the physical functioning measures, 6MWD showed the strongest association with fatigue: patients with greater physical capacity tended to report lower levels of fatigue. A significant association was also observed for daily step count, whereas moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was not associated with fatigue.

These findings suggest that better physical functioning, particularly greater physical capacity, is associated with a lower level of fatigue after NSCLC surgery. However, interventional studies are needed to determine whether targeting physical functioning can effectively reduce fatigue in this population.