Randomized trial of exercise vs. usual care on cancer biomarkers in ovarian cancer survivors: The Women’s Activity and Lifestyle Study in Connecticut (WALC).

Abstract

5561Background: Physical activity (PA) has been associated with a lower risk of developing or dying of many cancers, including ovarian cancer (OC). Inflammatory and metabolic pathways may underlie these associations. We examined the effect of exercise (EX) vs. attention control (AC) on insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, leptin, adiponectin, C-reactive protein (CRP), TNF-α, and IL-6 in women with OC. Methods: We randomized 144 inactive, post-chemotherapy OC survivors into a 6-month (6M) RCT of EX vs. AC; blood samples were available on a subgroup EX (n=53) vs. AC (n=51). All women received weekly phone calls; those in the EX arm were counseled on increasing their PA to 150 min/wk of aerobic exercise and those in the AC arm given information on health topics. Fasting blood samples were drawn at baseline (BL) and 6M. Biomarkers were assayed by ELISA, auto analyzer or RIA. Mixed model repeated analysis was used to compare BL to 6M changes in biomarkers, and included adjustment for BL biomarker level...