PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER

Rosimeide Francisco Dos Santos Legnani,Elto Legnani,Ana Cláudia Merchan Giaxa,Filipe Ferreira Da Silva,Anderson Zampier Ulbrich,Luciano Rogério Guiraldelli

doi:10.21527/2176-7114.2021.44.11359

Rosimeide Francisco Dos Santos Legnani, Elto Legnani + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-7114.2021.44.11359

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Breast cancer incidence increases with age, and its treatment usually has side effects such as joint pain, depression and fatigue. Insufficient physical activity can decrease muscle strength, increase fatigue and reduce quality of life. Given the above, the purpose of this systematic review was to identify the main intervention strategies based on physical activities for women during breast cancer treatment. This study considered four databases: PubMed, SportDiscus, Lilacs, and Scielo, taking into consideration studies of the last five years. The descriptors for physical activity variable were “exercise", “physical activity”, and “motor activity”. For breast cancer variable, the descriptors were “breast neoplasm”, and for participants: “women” and “adults”. Seven studies related to the benefits of physical activity were found, one of those was carried out in Brazil. The variables studied were fatigue, anthropometry, physical activity level (PAL), pain threshold, sleep quality, life quality (LQ), physical fitness (PF), and cortisol level. The types of intervention strategies were in most part through aerobic exercises, resistance/strength training, hydrotherapy, relaxation, yoga and belly dancing. Although there is no consensus on which physical activity, intensity, and frequency are best for the patients, in general, all patients increased their level of physical activity and quality of life, reduced fatigue, and were not impeded by the treatment or found necessary to interrupt it while performing such physical activities.

Highlights

Breast cancer is characterized by abnormal cell multiplication forming nodules or tumors that may develop slowly or rapidly
The incidence of breast cancer increases with age. 95% of the cases occur from 40 years old, while the cancer rate in women of more than 50 years old remained stable between 2005-2014, the cancer rate in women of less than 40 years old increased 0.2% a year since the 90s
The studies selected analyzed the interference of physical activity on different variables: physical activity level (PAL),[7, 9,13,14] life quality (LQ),7,13-14,18-19 fatigue,[7, 9, 13,14, 17,18] anxiety,[7,13,18,19] pain threshold,[17] sleep,[19] physical fitness (PF),9,13-14 anthropometry[17] and cortisol,[19] The methodological quality of the selected studies was assessed using the score obtained from the PEDro database.[20]

Summary

Introduction

Breast cancer is characterized by abnormal cell multiplication forming nodules or tumors that may develop slowly or rapidly. It can be caused by environmental and behavioral factors, reproductive background, and hormonal, genetic and hereditary factors. 95% of the cases occur from 40 years old, while the cancer rate in women of more than 50 years old remained stable between 2005-2014, the cancer rate in women of less than 40 years old increased 0.2% a year since the 90s.2. Healthy habits, such as the customary practice of physical activity (HPPA), healthy eating, breast feeding and low alcohol and cigarettes consumption can prevent up to 30% of breast cancer cases.[1]

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