Physical functional capacity of patients with glioma prior to adjuvant radiation: preliminary descriptive study

Ali Dulfikar; Eng-Siew Koh; Zarnie Lwin; Elizabeth Hovey; Haryana Dhillon; Jesica Arundell; Elizabeth Pinkham; Mark B Pinkham; Justin Holland; Gabriel Trajano; Fiona Naumann

doi:10.1093/nop/npab015

Physical functional capacity of patients with glioma prior to adjuvant radiation: preliminary descriptive study

Neurooncol Pract. 2021 Feb 22;8(3):290-298. doi: 10.1093/nop/npab015. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Authors

Ali Dulfikar¹, Eng-Siew Koh^{2

3}, Zarnie Lwin^{4

5}, Elizabeth Hovey^{6

3}, Haryana Dhillon⁷, Jesica Arundell², Elizabeth Pinkham^{1

8}, Mark B Pinkham^{1

9}, Justin Holland¹, Gabriel Trajano¹, Fiona Naumann¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia.
² Radiation oncology, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, Australia.
³ University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.
⁴ Department of Medical Oncology, Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital, Herston, Australia.
⁵ School of Medicine, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
⁶ Department of Medical Oncology, Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Prince of wales Hospital, Randwick, Australia.
⁷ Centre for Medical Psychology & Evidence-Based Decision-Making, School of Psychology Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.
⁸ Physiotherapy, Clinical Support Services, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woollongabba, Australia.
⁹ Radiation Oncology, Cancer Services, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, Australia.

Abstract

Background: Few studies have assessed physical functioning in glioma patients with grade II, III, and IV glioma prior to undergoing adjuvant radiation with or without chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to describe the baseline physical functioning capacity of patients with glioma prior to adjuvant therapy compared to validated cutoffs required to maintain independence.

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study that recruited patients with grade II, III, and IV glioma (n = 33) undergoing adjuvant radiation with or without chemotherapy. The six-minute walk, thirty-second sit-to-stand, and timed "Up & Go" assessments were used to describe baseline physical functioning. Perceived quality of life from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life questionnaire (QLQ-C30) version 3.0 was used to quantify the quality of life.

Results: Mean distance walked in the six-minute walk test was 416.2 m (SD 137.6 m) with a mean of 12.2 stands (SD 3.4 stands) achieved during the thirty-second sit-to-stand. Median time to complete the timed "Up & Go" assessment was 7 s (interquartile range: 3 s). One-sample t tests suggest walking distance and chair stands were significantly lower than cutoff criterions to maintain independent living, t(32) = -5.96, P < .001, bias-corrected accelerated 95% CI [370.7-460.4], and t(32) = -4.60, P < .01, bias-corrected accelerated 95% CI [11.0-13.4], respectively. Wilcoxon signed-rank test identified significantly shorter median time taken to complete the timed "Up & Go" test compared to the cutoff criterion (z = -4.43, n = 33, P < .01).

Conclusion: This study suggests glioma patient's aerobic endurance and lower limb strength are below criterion cutoffs recommended to maintain independent living. Timed "Up & Go" scores did not exceed the criterion cutoff, indicating respectable levels of mobility.

Keywords: assessments; functional capacity; glioma; independence; quality of life.

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology and the European Association of Neuro-Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.