Background: Many women gain weight after breast cancer diagnosis. Weight gain has been associated with poor quality of life (QOL), dissatisfaction with one's body, increased risk of postoperative complications, and possibly even an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence. Studies have suggested that decreases in physical activity during treatment may contribute to weight gain in breast cancer patients.
Methods: In this single-arm pilot study, 41 sedentary women with early stage breast cancer participated in a 12-week, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise intervention during adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation. The target exercise goal was 150 minutes of activity/week. Participants underwent evaluation of exercise behaviors, fitness, and psychological and anthropometric measures at baseline and after the 12-week intervention.
Results: Most participants were premenopausal, and 80% were treated with intensive chemotherapy regimens that included both an anthracycline and a taxane. In the 34 patients for whom baseline and week 12 measures were available, weekly exercise increased from 13 minutes to 116 minutes at week 12 (p < 0.001). Cardiorespiratory fitness and QOL improved significantly (p < 0.003 and p = 0.001, respectively), and there was a trend toward improvements in fatigue (p = 0.08). Participants also avoided weight gain and increases in body fat over the course of the 12-week protocol.
Conclusions: Women participating in a home-based exercise intervention during adjuvant therapy significantly increased activity and avoided weight gain, which has been associated with poor QOL and cancer outcomes in early stage breast cancer.