Hamada K, et al. - In this study involving 224 consecutive patients who had thoracoscopic lobectomy for stage I-II non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), researchers investigated the prognostic value of preoperative exercise capacity as assessed by 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) test. The investigators conducted this prospective cohort study between 2005 and 2013. Using Cox proportional hazards models, they estimated the risk of 5-year all-cause mortality based on the preoperative 6MWD with adjustment for other prognostic factors, including the age, performance status, postoperative cardiopulmonary complication, and pathological stage. The median follow-up of 60.8 months, during which time significantly lower 5-year overall survival rate was observed among those participants with a preoperative 6MWD of < 400 meters vs those with a 6MWD of ≥ 400 meters (65.3% vs 88.0%). Overall, possible utility of preoperative 6MWD was suggested as an additional prognostic factor for patients at an increased risk of mortality after thoracoscopic lobectomy for stage I-II NSCLC.