Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford, Ireland.
School of Humanities, Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Road, Waterford, Ireland.
Support Care Cancer. 2020 Oct;28(10):4953-4962. doi: 10.1007/s00520-020-05328-w. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
Cancer-related fatigue is a most debilitating side effect reported by survivors, often lasting years following treatment.
To determine the effects of a 10-week exercise intervention compared with a health education intervention on fatigue, quality of life outcomes and functional fitness in cancer survivors with documented fatigue.
This quasi-experimental study allocated 37 post-treatment fatigued cancer survivors (33 female, 30 breast cancer, aged 55 ± 2 years, time since treatment 2.3 ± 0.3 years; mean ± SEM) to an exercise group (EX, n = 19) or health education comparison group (HE, n = 18). The EX intervention emphasised brisk walking with progressive increments, stretching, exercise education and self-efficacy enhancement. The HE intervention emphasised sleep management, nutrition and cognitive behavioural therapy. All participants were evaluated at pre- and post-intervention with EX followed up at 26 W.
The intervention effect on fatigue (FACT-F) in EX was greater (p < 0.05) than that in HE, the difference being 4 times the recognised clinically important difference. The intervention also increased (p < 0.05) cognitive function, global quality of life and functional fitness scores. It reduced (p < 0.05) insomnia and fear of physical activity. All intervention effects were maintained to 26 W. The intervention effect on fatigue in EX was largely achieved by week 4. There was 100% retention rate at 10 W and no adverse events reported.
There is a reduction of considerable magnitude in cancer fatigue from group-based exercise training, that is sustainable and attributable to exercise per se.
Exercise training is feasible for fatigued cancer survivors and should form part of tailored rehabilitation programmes.
癌症相关疲劳是幸存者报告的最具危害性的副作用，通常在治疗后持续数年。
确定为期 10 周的运动干预与健康教育干预对有记录疲劳的癌症幸存者的疲劳、生活质量结果和功能适应性的影响。
这项准实验研究将 37 名治疗后疲劳的癌症幸存者（33 名女性，30 名乳腺癌，年龄 55±2 岁，治疗后时间 2.3±0.3 年；平均值±SEM）分配到运动组（EX，n=19）或健康教育对照组（HE，n=18）。EX 干预强调轻快步行，逐步增加，伸展运动，运动教育和自我效能增强。HE 干预强调睡眠管理、营养和认知行为疗法。所有参与者在干预前和干预后进行评估，EX 随访 26 周。
EX 组的疲劳（FACT-F）干预效果优于 HE 组（p<0.05），差异是公认的临床重要差异的 4 倍。干预还增加了认知功能、整体生活质量和功能适应性评分。它减少了失眠和对身体活动的恐惧（p<0.05）。所有干预效果都能持续到 26 周。EX 组的疲劳干预效果在第 4 周就已经达到了很大的程度。10 周时的保留率为 100%，没有报告不良事件。
从基于小组的运动训练中可以显著减轻癌症疲劳，这种效果是可持续的，并且归因于运动本身。
运动训练对于疲劳的癌症幸存者是可行的，应该成为定制康复计划的一部分。
