Actividad laboral en una cohorte de pacientes con carcinoma de pulmón

background: cancer affects many dimensions determining quality of life, including work. however, the importance of work to cancer survivors has received little attention. aim: employment and work-related disability were investigated in a cohort of lung cancer patients to describe a possible discrimination and other work issues. patients and methods: the study included consecutively 35 lung cancer patients who were employed at diagnosis. the questionnaire included cancer-related symptoms and work-related factors. clinical details were obtained from the medical record. patients were interviewed face to face and 32 variables were recorded. results: 96,9 per cent of patients were unable to work after diagnosis, but 85,7% returned to work at the end of treatment. most of the problems reported in the study were linked to the sequelae of their disease and related treatments. conclusions: this is the first exploratory study in spain about labour reintegration in lung cancer patients. further studies are necessary.