Effects of a Physical Exercise Program on Quality of Life and Physical Fitness of Breast Cancer Survivors: the MAMA_MOVE Gaia After Treatment Trial

ABSTRACT

To assess the effects of a group class physical exercise program on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), physical fitness and activity, and safety in early breast cancer women after treatment, a double-phase trial [16-week control phase (CP) followed by a 16-week intervention phase (IP)] was designed. Outcomes were evaluated at baseline (T1), 8 (T2) and 16 (T3) weeks (CP), and 24 (T4) and 32 (T5) weeks (IP). The primary endpoint was global health status. Out of 82 enrolled patients, 37 completed the IP. Global health status decreased (−10,1; 95% CI −19.8 to −0.4; p = 0.040) during the CP and stabilized during the IP. Physical and sexual functioning increased during the IP (p = 0.008; p = 0.017), while cardiorespiratory fitness increased in the CP (p = 0.004). Upper limb strength and lower limb functionality increased during both phases [CP: p < 0.0001, p = 0.001 (surgical and nonsurgical arm), p = 0.028; IP: p < 0.0001, p = 0.002, p = 0.009]. Body mass index decreased in the IP (p = 0.026). Waist circumference increased in the CP (p = 0.001) and decreased in the IP (p = 0.010); sedentary behaviours and moderate and vigorous physical activity did not change. Adherence to 70% of the sessions was reported in 54% of patients. No serious adverse events related to the intervention were reported. In conclusion, the physical exercise program was able to prevent the decline in global health status and to improve other domains of HRQOL and physical fitness. As physical exercise is not the standard of care in many countries, the implementation of group class programs might be an option.

KEYWORDS:

• Breast cancer
• health-related quality of life
• physical fitness
• physical exercise

Acknowledgments

• All the participants, for believing in the trial and agreeing to make part of it;

• Cristiana Marques and Joana Marinho for recruiting patients and giving support during the assessments;

• Sónia Gonçalves for support during the assessments;

• Enrique Dias for recruiting patients; Helena Guedes for the efforts to obtain last-minute missing data, essential to complete the final analysis;

• Ricardo Lopes, Patrícia Mendanha and Maria Inês Martins for their active role during the assessments, collecting data and supporting the supervision of the trainings;

• Ana João Tavares for support in scheduling and supervising the treadmill tests;

• Maike Collienne for the in-depth review of the manuscript;

• AICSO for supporting the trial under the ONCOMOVE® program and creating the conditions for its development;

• Solinca for believing in the trial since the first minute, for the partnership and for providing the conditions for the in-group classes.

• Direção Geral de Saúde (DGS) for accepting the trial as one of the pilot projects ‘Recomendação da Atividade física no Serviço Nacional de Saúde para utentes com doenças crónicas’, under the Programa Nacional para a Promoção da Atividade Física.

• Vera Afreixo is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), through CIDMA - Center for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications, within project UIDB/04106/2020 and UIDP/ 04106/2020.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2023.2240074

Additional information

Funding

Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro - Núcleo Regional do Norte: grant up to 2000 € euros for training material and digital hand manometerCâmara Municipal de Gaia: travel grant for the participants up to 2500 €Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude: grant of 5000 € under the Programa Nacional de Desporto para todos 2019, used for promotion of the trial and medical material (compression arm sleeves for participants with lymphoedema)Solinca Classic, SA, SC Fitness, SA, Lisbon: provision of a training studio and a certified exercise physiologist for the in-group classesUniversity of Maia: provision of the chest-based heart rate monitoring device system and the accelerometers.