Randomized trial of a physical activity intervention in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Abstract

9084 Background: Physical activity (PA) interventions improve fitness, functional capacity, and quality of life in patients with early-stage breast cancer. There are almost no data regarding the feasibility or potential benefits of PA in women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Our study evaluated the impact of a moderate-intensity PA intervention upon functional measures in patients with MBC. Methods: Participants were randomized 1:1 to a 16-week PA intervention or usual care control group. Eligibility included diagnosis of MBC, ECOG 0-1, and no active brain metastases. The intervention consisted of 4 weekly meetings with an exercise physiologist, followed by monthly in-person and weekly telephone-based meetings. The PA goal was 150 minutes per week. Baseline and 16-week evaluation included: modified Bruce treadmill test, 7-Day Physical Activity Recall Interview, and EORTC QLQ C-30 questionnaire. Results: 101 women enrolled between 9/06 and 3/11. Median age was 49 years, median time since diagnosis of MBC was 1.1 years, 48% of participants were on hormonal therapy and 42% on chemotherapy/biologic therapy. 69% completed all study measures (an additional 9% all but the final treadmill test). Attrition was higher in the intervention arm (30% vs. 16%, p=0.15). Outcome measures are shown in table below. Both groups experienced improvements in treadmill times. Intervention participants also reported improvements in physical functioning and increased minutes of weekly PA, with a trend toward significant differences between groups. Conclusions: Women with MBC participating in a PA intervention experienced consistent, but non-significant, trends toward improvements in functional measures. Our sample size was small, limiting power to evaluate the potential benefits of PA in women with MBC. Additional work is warranted, particularly since PA interventions appear feasible in this patient population. [Table: see text]