Association between one-minute sit-to-stand test and cardiorespiratory fitness in patients awaiting lung cancer surgery

<bold>Background:</bold> Preoperative assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) via CardioPulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) is recommended in patients undergoing lung cancer surgery (LC) but often limited by its availability in clinical practice. In this study we aimed to assess the association between the one-minute sit-to-stand (1minSTS) and VO₂peak to determine its usefulness in assessing CRF before surgery. <bold>Methods:</bold> We prospectively collected CPET data from two prospective longitudinal studies (one RCT and one cohort study) in patients with LC undergoing surgery with or without neoadjuvant therapy. In addition, patients also performed the 1minSTS at baseline. Physiological parameters were collected for both tests (heart rate, oxygen saturation, dyspnea). Bivariate correlations (Pearson's) were performed for the main variables reported from each test. <bold>Results:</bold> Between January 2024 and January 2025, we performed the 1minSTS on 18 patients in whom a CPET had been previously conducted (44% males, mean age 68.8 years). Neither absolute VO₂ (mL/min) at peak nor at the anaerobic threshold (VO₂AT) were associated with number of STS performed; however, a moderate correlation was found for both parameters when adjusted by weight (ml/kg/min) (r=0.5, p=.035 and r=0.6, p=0.01 respectively). Multivariate linear regression (stepwise) showed that VO₂peak (ml/kg/min) was the only independent factor associated with number of STS performed (adjusted R²=0.89, p<.0001). <bold>Conclusions:</bold> This preliminary data suggests that relative VO₂peak (ml/kg/min) is strongly associated with 1minSTS, thus showing the potential of the latter to be used as a screening tool in perioperative LC patients.