The Psychological and Physical Benefits of the Supervised Individual Exercise Program During Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients: A Randomized Prospective Study

Abstract

Treatment side effects lead to a negative impact on quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Exercise is reported to improve the physical and psychological status of these patients. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of exercise during radiotherapy on physical and psychological status in breast cancer patients. A randomized prospective study was set in an outpatient rehabilitation clinic. Histologically proven stage I-III breast cancer patients referred for adjuvant radiotherapy were randomly assigned to a supervised aerobic and strengthening exercise program (10 patients) or usual medical care without exercise training (10 patients). The primary outcome parameters were Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES), Short Form-36 (SF_36) Quality of life, Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) Inventory, Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). End points were assessed 1 week prior to and 1 week following 6 weeks exercise training. In the repeated measures analysis, BAI and FSS scores decreased, while general health (GH) and energy/fatigue (E) subscores of SF-36 increased in the exercise group (p=0.045, Cohen d=0.757 for BAI, p=0.02, Cohen d=0.863, p=0.010, Cohen d=1.02 for GH, p=0.032, Cohen d=0.801 for E). In addition, the use of problem-based coping score decreased in the control group (p=0.049, Cohen d=0.641). No significant differences were found between two groups in scores for BDI and RSES (p>0.05). In conclusion, supervised combined exercise training during adjuvant radiotherapy improved anxiety, fatigue, energy, and general health perceptions and also prevented decrease in using effective coping strategies.