Association of performance in a stair-climbing test with complications and survival after lung cancer resection in the video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery era: population-based outcomes.

With SCT-based exercise testing, VATS can be performed safely, with a similar major morbidity rate in the poor performance group (<11 m) compared to >12 m group. Poor exercise performance increases non-cancer-specific mortality. Being a major predictor of survival, exercise capacity should be included in prognostic models.