Evaluating the effectiveness of physical exercise programs in breast cancer survivors on health-related quality of life, physical fitness, and body composition

The study evaluated the effectiveness of physical exercise (PE) programs in breast cancer (BC) survivors on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), physical fitness, and body composition. The study concluded that PE programs do have a positive impact on BC survivors’ HRQoL, physical fitness, and body composition.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women globally. BC patients go through various extensive treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapies, and targeted therapies. However, the consequences that BC patients experience after treatments are not pleasant. BC survivors’ HRQoL, physical fitness, and body composition are negatively impacted.

The HRQoL of BC survivors is affected by various therapies and little evidence suggests that PE can benefit the HRQoL of these survivors.

Physical fitness includes cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength. Cardiorespiratory fitness measures any impairment caused by heart disease. BC survivors’ cardiorespiratory fitness is lowered compared to healthy hearts and is at risk of heart conditions. Additionally, some BC therapies pose a risk of heart side effects. PE has been shown to lessen the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, there are not many studies on the effects of PE in BC survivors. Fatigue caused by cancer leads to a decrease in muscle strength. A few studies have shown that PE reduces fatigue and improves muscle strength.

BC survivors are likely to have a change in body composition such as weight gain and an increase in waist circumference. Although many studies showed the importance of PE in BC survivors, there is a need for further studies on the effect of BC survivors’ HRQoL, physical fitness, and body composition.

The study gathered a total of 12 studies on BC survivors. The studies were based on the effectiveness of PE in BC survivors who underwent surgery or radiotherapy or chemotherapy. 

83.3% of the data showed that PE had a positive impact on HRQoL. 25% of the data showed that PE improved physical fitness. 25% of the studies found that body weight was reduced with PE and 33.3% of the data showed that PE reduced waist circumference.

Medium PE sessions (between 45 and 60 minutes) and long PE sessions (between 60 and 90 minutes) had better improvements in HRQoL in BC survivors.

The study concluded that PE showed promising results in improving BC survivors’ HRQoL, physical fitness, and body composition.

The studies analyzed were different in methods. The types of exercises and duration varied. Most studies had a short duration. Further studies are needed to validate these conclusions.