Supporting Life Adjustment in Patients With Lung Cancer Through a Comprehensive Care Program: Protocol for a Controlled Before-and-After Trial

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer diagnosis affects an individual's quality of life as well as physical and emotional functioning. Information on survivorship care tends to be introduced at the end of treatment, but early intervention may affect posttreatment adjustment. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has explored the effect of early information intervention on the return to work, family, and societal roles of lung cancer survivors.

Objective: We report the study protocol of a comprehensive care prehabilitation intervention designed to facilitate lung cancer survivors' psychological adjustment after treatment.

Methods: A comprehensive care program was developed based on a literature review and a qualitative study of patients with lung cancer and health professionals. The Lung Cancer Comprehensive Care Program consists of educational videos and follow-up visits by a family medicine physician. To prevent contamination, the control group received routine education, whereas the intervention group received routine care and intervention. Both groups completed questionnaires before surgery (T0) and at 1-month (T1), 6-month (T2), and 1-year (T3) follow-up visits after surgery. The primary outcome was survivors' psychological adjustment to cancer 6 months after pulmonary resection.

Results: The historical control group (n=441) was recruited from September 8, 2021, to April 20, 2022, and the intervention group (n=350) was recruited from April 22, 2022, to October 17, 2022. All statistical analyses will be performed upon completion of the study.

Conclusions: This study examined the effectiveness of an intervention that provided general and tailored informational support to lung cancer survivors, ranging from before to the end of treatment.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05078918; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05078918.

International registered report identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/54707.

Keywords: adjustment to cancer; cancer; comprehensive care; early intervention; education; educational; lung; lung cancer; lungs; oncology; prehabilitation; pulmonary; respiratory; return to work; survivor; survivors; survivorship; unmet needs.