Abstract
BackgroundExercise is an effective strategy to improve quality of life and physical fitness in breast cancer survivors; however, few studies have focused on the early survivorship period, minorities, physically inactive and obese women, or tested a combined exercise program and measured bone health. Here, we report the effects of a 16-week aerobic and resistance exercise intervention on patient-reported outcomes, physical fitness, and bone health in ethnically diverse, physically inactive, overweight or obese breast cancer survivors.MethodsOne hundred breast cancer survivors within 6 months of completing adjuvant treatment were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up (exercise group only) for physical fitness, bone mineral density, serum concentrations of bone biomarkers, and quality of life. The exercise intervention consisted of moderate-vigorous (65–85% heart rate maximum) aerobic and resistance exercise thrice weekly for 16 weeks. Differences in mean changes for outcomes were evaluated using mixed-model repeated measure analysis.ResultsAt post-intervention, the exercise group was superior to usual care for quality of life (between group difference: 14.7, 95% CI: 18.2, 9.7; p < 0.001), fatigue (p < 0.001), depression (p < 0.001), estimated VO2max (p < 0.001), muscular strength (p < 0.001), osteocalcin (p = 0.01), and BSAP (p = 0.001). At 3-month follow-up, all patient-reported outcomes and physical fitness variables remained significantly improved compared to baseline in the exercise group (p < 0.01).ConclusionsA 16-week combined aerobic and resistance exercise program designed to address metabolic syndrome in ethnically-diverse overweight or obese breast cancer survivors also significantly improved quality of life and physical fitness. Our findings further support the inclusion of supervised clinical exercise programs into breast cancer treatment and care.Trial registrationThis trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01140282 as of June 9, 2010.
Highlights
Exercise is an effective strategy to improve quality of life and physical fitness in breast cancer survivors; few studies have focused on the early survivorship period, minorities, physically inactive and obese women, or tested a combined exercise program and measured bone health
Breast cancer survivors are at elevated risk for the development of comorbid conditions such as sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease [1] which contribute to declines in quality of life, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and bone health
Exercise is an effective non-pharmacologic strategy to mitigate cancer-related treatment side effects and improve quality of life, cardiorespiratory fitness, and muscular strength in breast cancer survivors [2]; few studies have focused on the early survivorship period (≤6 months post-treatment), minorities, physically inactive and obese women, or tested a combined exercise program and measured bone health
Summary
Exercise is an effective strategy to improve quality of life and physical fitness in breast cancer survivors; few studies have focused on the early survivorship period, minorities, physically inactive and obese women, or tested a combined exercise program and measured bone health. Exercise is an effective non-pharmacologic strategy to mitigate cancer-related treatment side effects and improve quality of life, cardiorespiratory fitness, and muscular strength in breast cancer survivors [2]; few studies have focused on the early survivorship period (≤6 months post-treatment), minorities, physically inactive and obese women, or tested a combined exercise program and measured bone health. We hypothesized that a combined exercise intervention performed within 6 months of cancer treatment completion would improve patient-reported outcomes, physical fitness, and bone health in ethnically-diverse, physically inactive, overweight/obese breast cancer survivors compared to usual care
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