An Australian trial of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients newly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer has failed to show a physical benefit but may hint at potential mortality benefits, a commentator says.

The trial in 92 patients attending three tertiary centres in Melbourne, who had begun treatment for inoperable advanced non-small cell lung cancer in the preceding month, exposed them to either usual care or eight weeks of aerobic and resistance exercise carried out at home.

No difference between the groups was found in the primary outcome of the six-minute walk test either at nine weeks or six months from randomisation, reported the authors, led by physiotherapist Professor Linda Denehy (PhD) of the University of Melbourne.

In an accompanying editorial in Thorax, consultant respiratory physician Professor Michael Steiner of Leicester University, UK, pointed out that these patients had only just been diagnosed with lung cancer, “a biographically disruptive event”, and this could easily have affected their motivation to exercise.