Efficacy of Tango Argentino for Cancer-Associated Fatigue and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Friedemann Schad; Thomas Rieser; Sarah Becker; Jessica Groß; Harald Matthes; Shiao Li Oei; Anja Thronicke

doi:10.3390/cancers15112920

Efficacy of Tango Argentino for Cancer-Associated Fatigue and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Cancers (Basel). 2023 May 26;15(11):2920. doi: 10.3390/cancers15112920.

Authors

Friedemann Schad^{1

2}, Thomas Rieser^{1

3}, Sarah Becker⁴, Jessica Groß⁴, Harald Matthes^{1

3

5}, Shiao Li Oei¹, Anja Thronicke¹

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute Havelhöhe, Hospital Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe, 14089 Berlin, Germany.
² Interdisciplinary Oncology and Palliative Care, Hospital Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe, 14089 Berlin, Germany.
³ Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Breast Cancer Centre, Hospital Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe, 14089 Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Institute for Gastroenterology, Hospital Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe, 14089 Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Background: Persistent impairments of quality of life-in particular, cancer-associated fatigue-are a major limitation for breast cancer survivors. As physical activity and mindfulness interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing fatigue symptoms, we investigated the efficacy of a six-week Argentine tango program.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 60 breast cancer survivors diagnosed with stage I-III tumors 12-48 months prior to study enrollment and who had increased symptoms of fatigue. The participants were randomly assigned with a 1:1 allocation to either the tango or the waiting group. The treatment consisted of six weeks of supervised weekly one-hour tango group-sessions. Self-reported fatigue and further quality of life parameters were assessed at baseline and six weeks post-baseline. Longitudinal changes, correlations, Cohen's D (d) effect sizes, and association factors were also calculated.

Results: Superiority of the tango intervention over the waiting list control was found in terms of improvement in fatigue (d = -0.64; 95%CI, -1.2 to -0.08; p = 0.03), especially cognitive fatigue. In addition, a superiority of the tango intervention over the waiting list was found in the improvement of diarrhea (d = -0.69; 95%CI, -1.25 to -0.13; p = 0.02). A pooled pre-post analysis of the 50 participants completing the six-week tango program revealed a close to 10% improvement of fatigue (p = 0.0003), insomnia (p = 0.008) and further quality of life outcomes. Adjusted multivariate linear regression analyses revealed the greatest improvements for participants who were more active in sports. In particular, survivors who received endocrine therapies, were obese, or had no prior dance experience seemed to especially benefit from the tango program.

Conclusions: This randomized controlled trial demonstrated that a six-week Argentine tango program improves fatigue in breast cancer survivors. Further trials are warranted to determine whether such improvements lead to better long-term clinical outcomes.

Trial registration: trial registration number DRKS00021601. Retrospectively registered on 21 August 2020.

Keywords: breast cancer; dance; fatigue; integrative oncology; physical activities; quality of life; supportive care; tango Argentino.

Grants and funding

This study was supported via the institutional budget of the Research Institute Havelhöhe gGmbH at the Hospital Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe, which is the primary sponsor of the study and received no external funding.