Abstract
This study aims to test the effects of yoga on health-related quality of life, life satisfaction, cancer-related fatigue, mindfulness, and spirituality compared to conventional therapeutic exercises during (neo)adjuvant cytotoxic and endocrine therapy in women with breast cancer. In a randomized controlled trial 92 women with breast cancer undergoing oncological treatment were randomly enrolled for a yoga intervention (YI) (n = 45) or for a physical exercise intervention (PEI) (n = 47). Measurements were obtained before (t 0) and after the intervention (t 1) as well as 3 months after finishing intervention (t 2) using standardized questionnaires. Life satisfaction and fatigue improved under PEI (p < 0.05) but not under YI (t 0 to t 2). Regarding quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30) a direct effect (t 0 to t 1; p < 0.001) of YI was found on role and emotional functioning, while under PEI only emotional functioning improved. Significant improvements (p < 0.001) were observed at both t 1 and t 2 also for symptom scales in both groups: dyspnea, appetite loss, constipation, and diarrhea. There was no significant difference between therapies for none of the analyzed variables neither for t 1 nor for t 2. During chemotherapy, yoga was not seen as more helpful than conventional therapeutic exercises. This does not argue against its use in the recovery phase.
Highlights
The International Agency for Research on Cancer reported about “4.1 million new cancer cases [. . .] in 2012 worldwide” [1]
This study aimed to test the effectiveness of yoga for women with stage I–III breast cancer duringadjuvant cytotoxic and endocrine therapy on health-related QOL (HRQOL), life satisfaction, cancerrelated fatigue, mindfulness, and spirituality compared to conventional physical exercise
Analyzing both therapies first separately, we saw no significant differences between yoga intervention (YI) and physical exercise intervention (PEI) regarding life satisfaction, fatigue, and mindfulness for the first comparison (t0 − t1) or for the second comparison (t0 − t2)
Summary
The International Agency for Research on Cancer reported about “4.1 million new cancer cases [. . .] in 2012 worldwide” [1]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer reported about “4.1 million new cancer cases [. The second most common form of cancer in the world is breast cancer. Adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy are the most common therapies for cancer in conventional medicine [2, 3]. Cancer therapy has several attendant symptoms during and after therapy (e.g., a reduced physical fitness, fatigue, depression, and anxiety) [2, 4, 5]. In response to cancer therapy, a decrease in quality of life (QOL) is seen quite often. To reduce cancer therapies’ side effects, the use of physical exercises is part of the treatment concept [6, 7]
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