PainRelief.com: What are the main findings?
Response: We found that among patients with metastatic breast cancer, those who took part in a nine-month structured exercise program reported less fatigue and an improved quality of life compared to those who did not undergo the exercise program. In total, 60% of our study population reported pain above the clinically relevant threshold. In addition to the positive effects on both our primary outcomes, we found significant lower levels of pain for patients who took part in the exercise program compared to those who did not. Importantly, some patients with mBC worry that exercise might worsen their fatigue and pain, but this study shows that exercise can actually improve these outcomes. For patients who reported pain above the clinically relevant threshold at the start of the study, even larger effects of exercise in quality of life were found.
In addition, larger effects of exercise on quality of life were found for patients below 50 years of age. Also for patients above 50 years of age, beneficial effects of the exercise program were found, however, more tailoring might be needed for them to benefit as much as the younger patients.
PainRelief.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: Based on these findings, I recommend exercise to patients with metastatic breast cancer with stable bone metastases. Physicians and nurses should routinely recommend supervised exercise to patients with metastatic breast cancer and policymakers and insurance companies should ensure cost coverage for exercise programs.
If patients are interested in exercising, I recommend talking to their treating doctor or nurse first; and to search for an exercise trainer who is trained in guiding people with (metastatic) cancer.
PainRelief.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: We found beneficial effects of the exercise program for patients of 50 years or older, however, more tailoring might be needed for them to benefit as much as the younger patients. For future studies, it would be very valuable to start investigating how we should tailor exercise programs to this specific group of patients.
PainRelief.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any disclosures?
Response: We are excited about the results of our study because these are an important addition to current ASCO and ACSM guidelines that recommend exercise during curative treatment. No recommendations for patients with metastatic disease could have been included in the guidelines due to a lack of studies in the advanced setting. We now found that a supervised resistance and aerobic exercise intervention resulted in beneficial effects on fatigue, health-related quality of life, and other clinically relevant outcomes of patients with mBC.
I have no disclosures.
Citation
Presented at the 2024 European Breast Cancer Conference
The information on PainRelief.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.
Last Updated on March 21, 2024 by PainRelief.com