Effects of exercise on dyspnea and cancer-related fatigue in patients with prostate cancer.

Abstract

e16580 Background: Dyspnea and fatigue are two of the most common symptoms reported by patients with advanced cancer. Patients with dyspnea report an inability to complete activities of daily living (ADL) and impaired quality of life (QOL). Exercise has been shown to reduce cancer-related fatigue (CRF); however the relationships between dyspnea, CRF, ADL and QOL are unclear. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of exercise on dyspnea, CRF, ADL and QOL. Methods: A secondary data analysis was performed on a two-arm randomized controlled trial investigating the influence of exercise on prostate cancer patients treated with hormone (androgen deprivation therapy) and/or radiation therapy. Exercise for Cancer Patients (EXCAP©) is a 6 week home-based program that includes progressive aerobic and resistance band training. Participants were randomly assigned to usual care with EXCAP© or usual care only (UC). Dyspnea, CRF, ADL and QOL were measured using the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory (MFSI) and a Clinical Symptom Inventory (SI) at pre- and post-intervention. Results: Participants included 57 sedentary prostate cancer patients, average age 67 ± 8 years. Mean changes in dyspnea showed a positive, association with mean changes in CRF (SI r = .525; p < .01, MFSI r = .327; p = .08) in the EXCAP group but not in the UC group. Dyspnea changes were also positively associated with changes in exercise behavior (r = .590; p < .01), ADL (r = .684; p < .01), and QOL (r = .532; p < .01) in the EXCAP group, no association was found in the UC group. Furthermore, exercisers who reported the greatest improvements in dyspnea also reported greater improvements in CRF = 2.2 (p < .05), ADL = 1.8 (p < .01), and QOL = 2.4 (p = .01). Conclusions: Exercise-induced improvements in dyspnea are associated with improvements in CRF, ADL and QOL in prostate cancer patients. Additional research is needed to further understand these results. NCORP UG1 CA189961, R25 CA102618, DOD PC061518 Clinical trial information: NCT00815672.