Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University, Manipal, India.
Indian J Med Res. 2013 Mar;137(3):515-20.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing chemoradiotherapy (CRT) suffer from fatigue causing a decrease in functional capacity and quality of life (QoL). Limited research in the field of exercise training among these patients demanded the need for this study to assess the effects of exercise training on functional capacity and quality of life.
A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 48 patients with HNC undergoing CRT. The exercise group received an individually tailored, supervised, exercise programme for six weeks, while the control group did not receive any form of exercise. Functional capacity and QoL were assessed at baseline and at the end of the intervention using the six minute walk distance (6MWD) and medical outcomes survey short form 36 (SF 36).
The mean age of patients was 52 yr with 42 males. After six weeks, the 6MWD improved by 42 metres (P<0.05) in the exercise group while the control group showed a decrease by 96 metres (P<0.001). There was an improvement on the mental component score (MCS) of SF36 for the exercise group (4.8; P<0.05) and the physical component score (PCS) remained almost the same, while a decrease in PCS and MCS was seen in the control group (-5.9; P=0.064 and -17.3; P<0.05). When 6MWD and SF36 were compared between the groups, there was a statistically significant difference (P<0.001) seen after six weeks.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that the functional capacity and QoL decreased among those not receiving a supervised exercise program, while exercise training improved functional capacity and QoL in HNC patients undergoing CRT.
接受放化疗的头颈部癌症（HNC）患者会出现乏力，导致功能能力和生活质量（QoL）下降。该领域针对此类患者的运动训练研究有限，因此有必要开展本研究，评估运动训练对头颈部癌症放化疗患者功能能力和生活质量的影响。
对 48 例接受放化疗的 HNC 患者进行了一项随机对照试验。运动组接受了为期 6 周的个体化、监督式运动方案，而对照组未接受任何形式的运动。在基线和干预结束时，使用 6 分钟步行距离（6MWD）和医疗结局研究短表 36（SF 36）评估功能能力和生活质量。
患者的平均年龄为 52 岁，男性 42 例。6 周后，运动组的 6MWD 增加了 42 米（P<0.05），而对照组则减少了 96 米（P<0.001）。运动组的 SF36 心理成分评分（MCS）提高了 4.8 分（P<0.05），生理成分评分（PCS）几乎保持不变，而对照组的 PCS 和 MCS 则有所下降（-5.9 分，P=0.064；-17.3 分，P<0.05）。6 周后，两组间 6MWD 和 SF36 比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.001）。
本研究结果表明，未接受监督式运动方案的患者功能能力和生活质量下降，而运动训练可改善接受放化疗的 HNC 患者的功能能力和生活质量。
