Running away from side effects: physical exercise as a complementary intervention for breast cancer patients

The number of breast cancer survivors increases every year, thanks to the development of new treatments and screening techniques. However, patients present with numerous side effects that may affect their quality of life. Exercise has been demostrated to reduce some of these side effects, but in spite of this, few breast cancer patientes know and follow the exercise recommendations needed to remain healthy. In this review, we describe the differente breast cancer treatments and the related side effects and implications of exercise in relation to these. We propose that exercise could be and integrative complementary intervention to improve physiological, physical and psychological factors that affect survival and quality of life of these patients. For that reason, the main objective of this review is to provide a general overview of exercise benefits in breast cancer patients and recommendations of how to design exercise interventions in patients with different side effects

Exercise and cancer: A position statement from the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology

Due to improvements in the number of cancer survivors and survival time, there is a growing interest in healthy behaviors, such as physical activity (PA), and their potential impact on cancer- and non-cancer-related morbidity in individuals with cancer. Commissioned by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), in this review, we sought to distill the most recent evidence on this topic, focusing on the mechanisms that underpin the effects of PA on cancer, the role of PA in cancer prevention and in the prognosis of cancer and practical recommendations for clinicians regarding PA counseling. Despite the available information, the introduction of exercise programs into the global management of cancer patients remains a challenge with several areas of uncertainty. Among others, the most effective behavioral interventions to achieve long-term changes in a patient’s lifestyle and the optimal intensity and duration of PA should be defined with more precision in future studies.Sin financiación3.405 JCR (2020) Q3, 159/242 Oncology0.902 SJR (2020) Q2, 674/2448 Medicine (miscellaneous)No data IDR 2019UE

Effects of a Clinical Exercise Program on Health-Related Fitness and Quality of Life in Spanish Cancer Patients Receiving Adjuvant Therapy

Objective: To report the feasibility and effectiveness of a newly developed clinical exercise program for improving maximal cardiorespiratory fitness in Spanish cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation. We also examined the effectiveness of the exercise program for improving maximal muscular strength, body composition, fatigue, and quality of life, and explored if the effectiveness varied based on selected patient characteristics. Design: The study was a single group implementation feasibility study using a pre-posttest design. Methods: Participants performed a 12-week, twice-weekly, supervised, multi-component exercise program during adjuvant therapy. Paired t-tests were used to assess pre-post changes, and analyses of covariance were used to compare effectiveness based on selected patient characteristics. Results: We had 100 cancer patients referred to the clinical exercise program of which 85 (85%) initiated the exercise program and 76 (89%) completed the post-intervention fitness assessment. Exercise significantly improved VO2max by 4.8 mL/kg/minutes (P < .001, d = 0.74). Exercise also significantly improved chest strength (P < .001, d = 0.82), leg strength (P < .001, d = 1.27), lean body mass (P < .001, d = 0.11), skeletal muscle mass (P < .001; d = 0.09), fat mass (P < .001; d = 0.10), % body fat (P < .001; d = 0.17), quality of life (P = .0017; d = 0.41), and fatigue (P = .007; d = 0.46). Treatment modality, cancer type, and age affected some exercise responses, especially related to body composition changes. Conclusions: A 12-week, supervised, multi-component exercise program was effective for improving health-related fitness and quality of life in Spanish cancer patients receiving adjuvant therapy. Our results show the benefits of incorporating clinical exercise programming into the supportive care of cancer patients receiving treatments.S