A study looking at a rehabilitation programme for people having lung cancer surgery

This study is comparing a rehabilitation programme with standard care for people having surgery to remove lung cancer.

If you have lung cancer that is diagnosed at an early stage, you may have surgery to remove it. The aim of the surgery is to cure the cancer. But there is a risk of complications after surgery and it takes time to feel better and to get back to your normal level of activity. Getting back to normal can be called rehabilitation.

Being as fit as possible before your operation may reduce the risk of complications and help you to recover more quickly. In this study, researchers are looking at a rehabilitation programme that includes exercise, education and guidance on what you eat and help to stop smoking. They will compare this with the normal care people have before and after surgery to remove lung cancer.

The aims of the study are to see if a rehabilitation programme can

Reduce the amount of time you stay in hospital and the risk of complications
Improve your quality of life during this time

Recruitment

Start 01/04/2011

End 01/04/2016

Phase

Other

Who can enter

You can enter this trial if you are over 18 and are going to have surgery to remove lung cancer at Heartlands Hospital Birmingham. You may also be asked to take part if your doctors think you might need surgery but are not sure yet. Taking part in this study does not delay surgery if you do need to have it.

Trial design

The study will recruit more than 1,200 people over a period of 5 years.

425 people will go through the rehabilitation programme at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, Solihull Hospital or Worcester Royal Hospital
850 people will have standard care before and after surgery at a number of other hospitals – these people make up the control group

The rehabilitation programme involves

An exercise programme designed for you that involves sessions in the physiotherapy gym both before and after surgery
Being given information about your disease and treatment
An assessment of what you eat and guidance on changing your diet if needed
Help to stop smoking if you are a smoker

Everybody will be asked to fill out a questionnaire at the beginning of the study and again after surgery. The questionnaire will ask about how you have been feeling. This is called a quality of life study. People on the rehabilitation programme will also fill out other questionnaires before surgery, then 5 weeks and 6 months afterwards. These will ask about how active they are and how motivated they feel.

Hospital visits

Everybody taking part has an initial meeting with the study team. At this meeting, you will do a 6 minute walking test and have tests to measure how well your lungs are working (lung function tests). The study team will ask you about what you eat and whether you smoke.

People in the control group see the study team again after their surgery and have the same tests they had at the first meeting. They may also be asked to attend an extra interview.

People on the rehabilitation programme go to the physiotherapy gym for up to 2 hours a week. This will start before surgery and will carry on for 6 weeks afterwards. The study team will then follow their progress for up to 6 months.

Everybody taking part will also have regular follow up appointments with their hospital consultant.