Effects of a combined aerobic and resistance exercise program in breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Few randomized controlled trials have examined the effects of combined aerobic and resistance training in breast cancer survivors soon after completing adjuvant therapy. Breast cancer survivors (N=58) within 2 years of completing adjuvant therapy were randomly assigned to an immediate exercise group (IEG; n=29) or a delayed exercise group (DEG; n=29). The IEG completed 12 weeks of supervised aerobic and resistance exercise, three times per week. The DEG completed the program during the next 12 weeks. Participants completed patient-rated outcomes at baseline, 6, 12, 18 and 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was overall quality of life (QoL) measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast scale. Secondary endpoints were fatigue, social physique anxiety, and physical fitness. Follow-up data was obtained on 97% of participants and exercise adherence was 61.3%. Repeated measures analyses of variance revealed a significant group by time interaction for overall QoL (P<0.001). Specifically, QoL increased in the IEG from baseline to 12 weeks by 20.8 points compared to a decrease in the DEG of 5.3 points (mean group difference=26.1; 95% CI=18.3-32.7; P<0.001). From 12 to 24 weeks, QoL increased in the DEG by 29.5 points compared to an increase of 6.5 points in the IEG (mean group difference=23.0; 95% CI=16.3-29.1; P<0.001). Similar results were obtained for the secondary endpoints. Combined aerobic and resistance exercise soon after the completion of breast cancer therapy produces large and rapid improvements in health-related outcomes.

Efectividad del ejercicio físico en la fatiga de pacientes con cáncer durante el tratamiento activo: revisión sistemática y metaanálisis

“…Se localizaron 8.557 títulos, de los cuales tras la aplicación de los criterios de selección definidos, sólo 11 estudios (n = 1.407) fueron incluidos en el presente estudio 24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34 . La Figura 1 presenta el diagrama de flujo con los procesos de búsqueda y selección de los estudios incluidos.…”

“…Solo tres estudios reportaron el seguimiento realizado en sus metodologías 26,30,31 . Courneya et al 26 encontraron que las diferencias en la fatiga, el funcionamiento físico y la calidad de vida no fueron significativas a los 6 meses de seguimiento post-intervención (p = 0,054).…”

“…Courneya et al 26 encontraron que las diferencias en la fatiga, el funcionamiento físico y la calidad de vida no fueron significativas a los 6 meses de seguimiento post-intervención (p = 0,054). Milne et al 30 obtuvieron datos de seguimiento en el 97% de los participantes con una adherencia del 61,3%, registrando mejoras estadísticamente significativas en la fatiga, la calidad de vida, la ansiedad y el fitness físico (p < 0,05). Por último, Mutrie et al 31 encontraron que los efectos del ejercicio físico en la fatiga del grupo experimental se mantuvieron durante los 6 meses de seguimiento (p < 0,05).…”

Long-term effects on cancer survivors’ quality of life of physical training versus physical training combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy: results from a randomized trial

“…Three other studies [4,11,22] reported long-term results following an exercise intervention for cancer patients who had completed their cancer-related treatment. Similar to our findings in a mixed group of cancer survivors, Milne et al [22] showed that quality of life of breast cancer survivors was improved directly after and 3 months following a 12-week combined aerobic and resistance exercise intervention. Contrary to the findings in the present trial, they reported that quality of life still increased from post-intervention to 3-month post-intervention.…”

Physical Activity and Cancer

“…The majority of physical intervention studies with breast cancer survivors have been conducted following the completion of cancer treatment. In general the research has shown that post-treatment physical activity programmes can have positive effects on a wide range of outcomes (Cramp & Daniel, 2008) including quality of life (Carson et al, 2009;Daley et al, 2007), physical functioning Pinto et al, 2005), aerobic capacity (Burnham & Wilcox, 2002;Milne et al, 2008), and mental wellbeing (Cho et al, 2006;Morey et al, 2009). A recent meta-analysis also found positive effects of physical activity on a wide range of QOL outcomes across different cancer-site survivors, although it should be recognised that 65% of the reviewed studies included breast cancer patients only (Fong et al, 2012).…”