Impact of physical activity on fatigue and quality of life during and after adjuvant treatment for breast cancer

Abstract

Introduction Although physical activity (PA) can alleviate fatigue and improve quality of life (QoL) in patients with breast cancer (BC), not all components of PA may have equal impact. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal impact of PA components on the evolution of fatigue and QoL during and after adjuvant treatment for BC. Methods We included women from the 2-year longitudinal FATSEIN study with 10 follow-up: 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 months (adjuvant treatment period) and 12, 18 and 24 months (adjuvant post treatment period). Fatigue and QoL were measured by the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory and EORTC QLQC-30 questionnaire respectively. Fatigue and QoL scores have been normalized from 0 (low-level) to 100 (high-level). PA practice has been assessed by frequency (number/week), duration (minutes/session) and intensity (low, moderate or vigorous) of PA. Group-based trajectory analysis was used to determine patterns of PA components evolutions. The selection of the optimal models was based on the Bayesian information criterion maximization, the proportion of patients in each trajectory group (> 5%), the statistical significance of the equation modeled and the clinical relevance of trajectories identified. Cross-sectional and longitudinal association between PA patterns and fatigue and QoL were analyzed by multivariable linear regression and a mixed model for repeated measures, respectively. Results Among 424 women included (mean age 57.1 ± 10.4 years), two trajectories were identified for each of the three PA components: “low and insufficient frequency” (51.2%, Conclusions PA, especially its frequency, is an important determinant of fatigue and QoL during adjuvant treatment for BC. Promoting regular PA among women undergoing treatment for BC may be an effective way to reduce fatigue and improve QoL. This work had led to an article published in the Cancer journal [1] .