Longitudinal assessment of functional independence of older adults after lung cancer surgery: Final results of the JCOG1710A prospective cohort study.

Introduction: We previously reported the results of a prospective observational study evaluating activities of daily living (ADL) at six months after curative surgical resection in patients aged ≥75 years with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this manuscript, we report the 24-month longitudinal ADL outcomes in this population, providing important data to support treatment decision-making and to identify risk factors for long-term functional decline.

Materials And Methods: This is a prospective, multi-institutional observational cohort study conducted in Japan. We evaluated patients aged ≥75 years who underwent curative surgery for stage 0-III NSCLC. ADL were evaluated at 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively using the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG-IC), which encompasses dimensions of instrumental activities of daily living. We defined ADL deterioration as a decline of ≥3 points or missing data and performed multivariable analyses for ADL deterioration.

Results: The follow-up data of 876 patients were available for a median of 24.2 months. At 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively, the proportion of patients with ADL deterioration was 11.0 %, 10.3 %, and 12.6 %, respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed that factors such as poor performance status, low G8 score, undergoing segmentectomy instead of wedge resection, and surgery duration <3 h were associated with ADL deterioration after six months. Conversely, a low G8 score was sole factor associated with a decline in the TMIG-IC score after 24 months. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that at six months, segmentectomy was significantly associated with more ADL deterioration compared with wedge resection, with an odds ratio (OR) of 4.96 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.88-13.07). However, segmentectomy and wedge resection showed no significant difference at 24 months (OR: 0.92, 95 % CI: 0.40-2.10).

Discussion: Among patients aged ≥75 years undergoing lung cancer surgery, approximately 10 % experienced a decline in ADL at six months postoperatively; however, the proportion remained stable thereafter, suggesting no further functional deterioration. Short-term ADL tended to be preserved with wedge resection, but this advantage diminished over time. The insights from this study are also expected to inform patient decision-making regarding treatment strategy.