A pilot study of individualized exercise prescription to improve physical activity in cancer survivors.

Authors

Priyanka Avinash Pophali

Priyanka Avinash Pophali

University of WIsconsin, Madison, WI

Priyanka Avinash Pophali , Urshila Durani , John Shin , Melissa C. Larson , Adam Shultz , Julie Becker , Melissa Bowman , Carrie A. Thompson , Elizabeth Jane Cathcart-Rake

Organizations

University of WIsconsin, Madison, WI, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, Mayo Clinic, Division of Hematology, Rochester, MN, Saint Luke's Cancer Specialists, Kansas City, MO

Research Funding

Other Foundation
Partially funded through the Lymphoma Research Foundation Clinical Research Mentorship Program

Background: Physical activity (PA) in cancer survivors improves quality of life (QOL), functioning, fatigue, and reduces the risk of treatment complications, cancer recurrence and death. However, the optimal intervention for increasing PA is not established. Most prospective studies have shown a 6-12-week program to be an effective intervention but this is often not feasible. Therefore, we piloted a one-time individualized exercise prescription in our cardiac rehabilitation center to improve PA in cancer survivors. Methods: We prospectively enrolled cancer survivors who had completed curative intent treatment, with no evidence of active disease in this pilot study. Survivors who consented underwent a consultation with an exercise physiologist for needs assessment followed by a supervised exercise session with a tailored exercise prescription. Survivors also filled out surveys assessing their PA and QOL at baseline (bl), 3, 6 and 12 months after intervention. Clinical information was collected via chart review. We estimated longitudinal PA score and change in PA using mixed models incorporating scores from all available time points using SAS (v 9.4). Results: Between May 2018 and January 2020, 50 participants (26 lymphoma and 24 solid tumor survivors) completed the intervention. 20% participants were on maintenance therapy during the study. Clinical characteristics of 42 evaluable participants are summarized in Table. The survey response rate was 82%, 58%, 58%, 46% at bl, 3, 6 and 12 months respectively. The level of PA improved with time [mean (SE) PA score: 58.5 (4.3) bl, 63.9 (4.8) at 3, 57.6 (4.8) at 6, 62.6 (5.3) at 12 months]. The change in PA from baseline to follow-up time-points [bl vs 3m p=0.41; bl vs 6m p=0.88; bl vs 12m p=0.55] or between the lymphoma and solid tumor survivors was not statistically significant and limited by sample size. No significant trend in QOL was seen. Conclusions: Individualized exercise prescription using the cardiac rehabilitation program may be a feasible, widely applicable tool to implement a PA intervention among cancer survivors. The trend towards improvement in PA in this novel one-time intervention provides intriguing evidence and deserves future study in larger sample sizes to understand if it can improve and create sustainable PA change comparable to longer term exercise interventions.

Clinical characteristics
N=42
Age, in years, median (range)
62.5 (24-92)
Sex, female, N (%)
24 (63%)
Cancer diagnosis, N (%)

Lymphoma

Breast Ca

Thyroid Ca

Sarcoma

Gastrointestinal Ca

Other Ca

Missing


20 (51%)

5 (14%)

3 (7 %)

3 (7%)

3 (7%)

5 (14%)

3
Time since treatment completion to enrollment in months, median
4.8

Disclaimer

This material on this page is ©2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology, all rights reserved. Licensing available upon request. For more information, please contact licensing@asco.org

Abstract Details

Meeting

2021 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Publication Only

Session Title

Publication Only: Symptoms and Survivorship

Track

Symptom Science and Palliative Care

Sub Track

Health Promotion/Behaviors

Citation

J Clin Oncol 39, 2021 (suppl 15; abstr e24030)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.e24030

Abstract #

e24030

Abstract Disclosures

Similar Abstracts

Abstract

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Effects of a pilot 12-week exercise program on breast cancer survivors’ quality of life.

First Author: Lauren Imai

First Author: Mackenzi Pergolotti

First Author: Dennis R Taaffe