Abstract
BackgroundThis study evaluated the impact of an exercise program on quality of life in older breast cancer survivors undergoing aromatase inhibitor therapy.MethodsOlder breast cancer survivors were randomized into two groups: combined training: resistance + aerobic exercise program for nine months (n = 18) or control group (n = 18). Quality of life was assessed by the questionnaires SF36, EORTC QLQ-C30, and EORTC QLQ-BR23 at baseline, and at three, six, and nine months. The exercise group performed 40 min of resistance exercises on machines followed by 30 min of aerobic training on a treadmill 3x/wk. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the groups over time.ResultsSignificant time x group interactions and moderate to high effect sizes were found for physical functioning, physical health, bodily pain, general health perception, vitality, social functioning, fatigue, sleep disturbance, body image, and upset by hair loss, favoring the exercise group.ConclusionThis study demonstrated the potential benefits and high clinical relevance of exercise programs to improve quality of life in older breast cancer survivors undergoing aromatase inhibitor therapy.
Highlights
Cancer is considered a public health problem in the majority of countries in the world [18]
The eligibility criteria included postmenopausal women aged between 50 and 80 years, using aromatase inhibitor therapy (AI), with a diagnosis of stage I to III breast cancer, without musculoskeletal injuries, with physician clearance to participate in physical training, living in the city, returning a signed consent form to participate in the research, and not having participated in supervised physical exercise for at least 6 months prior to enrollment in the study
A power analysis was performed, based on the observation from a previous study that found improvement of 13.4 points in the overall quality of life assessed by the functional assessment of cancer therapy-breast (FACT-B) scale after 10 weeks of exercise training in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors [38]
Summary
Cancer is considered a public health problem in the majority of countries in the world [18]. Breast cancer mortality has declined in recent years due to early detection and improvement in treatment [18]. Two and a half million breast cancer survivors live in the United States [39]. In Brazil, breast cancer mortality is considered to have stabilized in regions with a high socioeconomic level, in Several factors have contributed to the improvement in breast cancer survival rate, among them the use of endocrine therapy, which could be responsible for reductions in the risk of local recurrence, distant metastasis, and death [17]. 80 years later, tamoxifen was the first effective endocrine drug to treat breast cancer with fewer side effects [11]. This study evaluated the impact of an exercise program on quality of life in older breast cancer survivors undergoing aromatase inhibitor therapy
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