A preliminary study on forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity to predict prognosis of patients with lung cancer

Aim: The purpose of the study is to verify if there is statistic difference of lung function before surgery based on differences in clinical characteristics (sex, age, degree of differentiation, size of tumor, tumor node metastasis (TNM), methods of surgeries, pleural metastasis, and lymph gland metastasis). Another purpose is to test if forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity obstruction (FEV1/FVC) is a risk factor of the prognosis of lung cancer. Methods: This retrospective study used t-test or analysis of variance to explore whether dramatic difference of lung function (FVC, FEV1, maximal voluntary ventilation [MVV], and FEV1/FVC) existed based on differences in clinical characteristics. The study used the Kaplan–Meier method to verify if FEV1/FVC could be a risk factor to predict the prognosis of lung cancer patients after surgeries. Results: The statistical results indicated that statistical difference of FVC existed between different age groups. In patients of different ages and sexes, there was statistically different MVV. Results of FEV1/FVC showed that FEV1/FVC varied dramatically in patients of different pleural metastasis conditions or TNM. Analysis of prognosis proved that in patients with a different differentiation degree, size of tumor, metastasis conditions of lymph gland, and TNM stage, a statistically different prognosis was found. As for groups of normal and abnormal FEV1/FVC, no apparently different prognosis was observed. Analysis of lung cancer patients of stage I indicated that the 5-year survival was dramatically different between patients of normal and abnormal FEV1/FVC. Conclusion: In lung cancer patients of stage I, FEV1/FVC was one of the risk factors of prognosis.