Preoperative exercise training for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Surgical resection for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) offers the best chance of cure, but is associated with a risk of postoperative pulmonary complications (i.e. pneumonia (new infiltrate coupled with either fever (> 38º C) and purulent secretions, or fever and white cell count > 11,000), bronchopleural fistula, severe atelectasis that requires chest physiotherapy or bronchoscopy, and prolonged mechanical ventilation (> 48 hours)). It is currently unclear if preoperative exercise training, and the potential resultant improvement in exercise capacity, may also improve postoperative outcomes, such as the risk of developing postoperative pulmonary complications, the length of postoperative intercostal drainage, or the length of hospital stay.