Absolute and relative intensity of physical activity in patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer following surgery

<bold>Background:</bold> Patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) show low physical activity (PA) levels post-surgery. Moderate to vigorous intense PA (MVPA) is typically defined using absolute cut points, but its relation to maximal PA intensity (maxPA) measured during an instrumented field test is unknown. <bold>Aim:</bold> To evaluate free-living PA intensity distribution of patients with resectable NSCLC post-surgery and quantify time spent in different intensity zones relative to maxPA assessed during a field test. <bold>Methods:</bold> Patients with NSCLC in an ongoing RCT, 1-12 months post-surgery, underwent maxPA assessment by accelerometery (ActiGraph GTX3) during the best of two six-minute walk tests (6MWT). Free-living PA was measured for 7 consecutive days by accelerometery. Vector magnitude units (VMU) were retrieved, time in MVPA (≥1951VMU) and intensity zones relative to maxPA were compared by paired T-test. <bold>Results:</bold> In 39 patients (23 males, 67±10 yrs) daily relative PA intensity distribution is shown in Fig1. Patients spent 18±24min/day in MVPA and 19±24min/day at ≥50% maxPA (p=0.6). The absolute cutoff was 61±27(range: 31-179)% of maxPA (Fig1). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Post-surgery, patients with resectable NSCLC engage in limited MVPA. Absolute cut points correspond to ~60% of maxPA during a field test, with large variability. This hints the need for a more personalized approach to PA intensity interpretation. <fig><object-id>erj;66/suppl_69/PA5969/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>