Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effect of an exercise intervention on subjective cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in breast cancer survivors (BCS). Methods: BCS with greater than moderate CRF (≥ 4) were recruited and randomly assigned to experimental or control groups. The experimental group participated in a 12-week exercise adherence program (Better Life after Cancer - Energy, Strength, and Support; BLESS). Interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were determined at 3 time points (M1: Baseline, M2: Post-intervention, and M4: 6 months after intervention). Subjective fatigue was measured using the Korean version of the revised Piper Fatigue Scale. Results: In this analysis of participants with physiological fatigue measures available (19 experimental, 21 control), there were no statistically significant differences in IL-6 (F = 1.157, p = 0.341), TNF-α levels (F = 0.878, p = 0.436), and level of fatigue (F = 2.067, p = 0.118) between the 2 groups at baseline. Fatigue in the experimental group showed statistically significant improvement compared to the control only at M2 (p = 0.022). There was no significant relationship between subjective and physiological fatigue at the 3 measurement points. Conclusion: The BLESS intervention improved CRF in BCS immediately at post-intervention, and this study presents clinical feasibility for the management of CRF in BCS in the early survivorship phase who are already experiencing fatigue.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 205-217 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of Breast Cancer |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 Apr |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation for Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number 2015R1D1A1A01059846).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Korean Breast Cancer Society.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Oncology
- Cancer Research