Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Jan 1;146(1):150-160.
doi: 10.1002/ijc.32493. Epub 2019 Jun 27.

Effects of exercise dose and type during breast cancer chemotherapy on longer-term patient-reported outcomes and health-related fitness: A randomized controlled trial

Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of exercise dose and type during breast cancer chemotherapy on longer-term patient-reported outcomes and health-related fitness: A randomized controlled trial

Ki-Yong An et al. Int J Cancer. .

Abstract

The Combined Aerobic and Resistance Exercise (CARE) Trial compared different types and doses of exercise performed during breast cancer chemotherapy. Here, we report the longer-term follow-up of patient-reported outcomes, health-related fitness and exercise behavior at 6, 12 and 24 months postintervention. A multicenter trial in Canada randomized 301 breast cancer patients initiating chemotherapy to thrice weekly, supervised exercise consisting of a standard dose of 25-30 min of aerobic exercise (STAN; n = 96), a higher dose of 50-60 min of aerobic exercise (HIGH; n = 101) or a combined dose of 50-60 min of aerobic and resistance exercise (COMB; n = 104) performed for the duration of chemotherapy (median of 17 weeks). Primary outcomes were patient-reported outcomes including quality of life, cancer-related symptoms and psychosocial outcomes. Secondary outcomes were objective health-related fitness (assessed at 12 months only) and self-reported exercise behavior. A total of 269 (89.4%) participants completed patient-reported outcomes at all three follow-up time points and 263 (87.4%) completed the health-related fitness assessment at 12-month follow-up. COMB was significantly superior to (i) STAN for sleep quality at 6-month follow-up (p = 0.027); (ii) HIGH for upper body muscular endurance at 12-month follow-up (p = 0.020); and (iii) HIGH for meeting the resistance exercise guideline at 6-month follow-up (p = 0.006). Moreover, self-reported meeting of the combined exercise guideline during follow-up was significantly associated with better patient-reported outcomes and health-related fitness. Performing combined exercise during and after breast cancer chemotherapy may result in better longer-term patient-reported outcomes and health-related fitness compared to performing aerobic exercise alone.

Keywords: cancer survivors; exercise; exercise behavior; health-related fitness; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Courneya KS, Friedenreich CM. Relationship between exercise during treatment and current quality of life among survivors of breast cancer. J Psychosoc Oncol 1998;15:35-57.
    1. Adamsen L, Quist M, Midtgaard J, et al. The effect of a multidimensional exercise intervention on physical capacity, well-being and quality of life in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Support Care Cancer 2006;14:116-27.
    1. Schmitz KH, Courneya KS, Matthews C, et al. American College of Sports Medicine roundtable on exercise guidelines for cancer survivors. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2010;42:1409-26.
    1. Courneya KS, McKenzie DC, Mackey JR, et al. Effects of exercise dose and type during breast cancer chemotherapy: multicenter randomized trial. J Natl Cancer Inst 2013;105:1821-32.
    1. van Waart H, Stuiver MM, van Harten WH, et al. Effect of low-intensity physical activity and moderate- to high-intensity physical exercise during adjuvant chemotherapy on physical fitness, fatigue, and chemotherapy completion rates: results of the PACES randomized clinical trial. J Clin Oncol 2015;33:1918-27.

Publication types

Substances

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources