Abstract P6-05-30: Effects of a 12-Week Exercise Program on Breast Cancer Survivors’ Quality of Life

Abstract

Abstract Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that breast cancer survivors commonly experience a decrease in quality of life including an increased risk of depression, insomnia, cancer-related fatigue, and negative body image. Several studies have shown that exercise interventions, such as yoga, Pilates, water aerobics, and strengthening exercises, can improve survivors’ quality of life. We implemented a 12-week exercise program in breast cancer survivors and evaluated body composition and quality of life changes. Here we discuss our findings evaluating 5 quality of life questionnaires. Methods: We evaluated 22 participants who completed a baseline and post 12-week questionnaire assessments. All participants underwent a 12-week exercise program 3 times/week for 90 minutes/session. We calculated differences in baseline and post 12-week quality of life through 5 questionnaires: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G), Social Support, Insomnia Severity Index, Brief Fatigue Inventory, and Body Image after Breast Cancer (BIBCQ) and assessed the intervention’s efficacy by comparing the baseline and post 12-week scores using paired t-tests. Results: The difference between baseline and post 12-week quality of life are presented in Table 1. 7/13 questionnaires showed statistical significance: FACT-G Emotional, FACT-G Functional, Insomnia Severity Index, BIBCQ Vulnerability Scale (VS), BIBCQ Body Stigma Scale (BSS), BIBCQ Limitation Scale (LS), and BIBCQ Body Concern Scale (BCS). Interestingly, 4/6 of the BIBCQ questionnaires showed statistical significance: BIBCQ VS, BIBCQ BSS, BIBCQ LS, and BIBCQ BCS. Summary: Our study showed improvement in all metrics evaluated in breast cancer survivors who underwent the personalized exercise program. Specifically, multiple questionnaires including body image were improved with exercise which further exemplifies the impact of lifestyle changes on quality of life measures and is an important adjunct to future cancer survivorship studies. Table 1. Summary of questionnaires with overall significant improvements. Citation Format: Lauren Imai, Kirsten Baron, Matthew Toyama, Ian Pagano, Paulette Yamada, Cheri Teranishi-Hashimoto, Jami Fukui. Effects of a 12-Week Exercise Program on Breast Cancer Survivors’ Quality of Life [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-05-30.