Engaging in aerobic exercises such as walking, breathing, cycling and weight training, before undergoing lung cancer surgery may reduce the complication rate post-surgery by half, a study has found.

The researchers showed that participants who engaged in exercise sessions from three times a week to three times a day had 48 per cent lower risk of after surgery complications. It also reduced the length of hospital stay by nearly three days for patients with lung cancer. "Postoperative complication is a major concern for patients undergoing [cancer] surgery," said lead author Daniel Steffens, researcher at the University of Sydney.

"The findings may also impact on healthcare costs and on patients' quality of life, and consequently have important implications for patients, healthcare professionals and policymakers," Steffens added, in a paper published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The team assessed 13 clinical trials that included 806 participants and cases related to six different types of cancer: bowel, liver, gullet (oesophageal), lung, mouth and prostate.

Exercise programmes for the participants, which were compared with standard care or advice, lasted from one to four weeks, with the average length a fortnight. The trials that reported more numerous sessions of exercise had better results, suggesting that there may be a dose-response effect, the researchers noted. In addition, the exercise programme also improved the quality of life for the people suffering from mouth and prostate cancer.