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Moderators of physical activity and quality of life response to a physical activity intervention for breast cancer survivors

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Abstract

Purpose

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) can improve the quality of life (QoL) for breast cancer survivors (BCS), yet, most do not achieve 150 + weekly minutes of MVPA. This study investigated moderators of response to a physical activity (PA) behavior change intervention for BCS.

Methods

BCS (N = 222) were randomized to the 3-month intervention (BEAT Cancer) or usual care. Measurements occurred at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention. Measures included accelerometry, self-reported MVPA, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-General, FACT-Breast, physical well-being (PWB), social well-being (SWB), emotional well-being (EWB), functional well-being (FWB), additional concerns (AC), and Trial Outcome Index (TOI)).

Results

Adjusted linear mixed-model analyses indicated individuals ≤ 24 months post-diagnosis and who were single reported smaller increases in weekly self-reported MVPA than those > 24 months (44.07 vs 111.93) and partnered (− 16.24 vs. 49.16 min), all p < 0.05. As for QoL, participants < 12 months post-diagnosis who received chemotherapy experienced smaller improvements than those ≥ 12 months in FACT-General, FACT-Breast, PWB, and SWB scores. Survivors with a history of chemotherapy had smaller improvements in FACT-General, FACT-Breast, PWB, SWB, TOI, and AC scores, all p < 0.05.

Conclusion

These findings indicate that being < 2 years post-diagnosis, single, and prior chemotherapy may limit MVPA and QOL responses to a PA intervention. Further studies are needed to determine if and/or what additional PA supports and resources these subgroups of BCS might find beneficial and effective.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00929617.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Abbreviations

QoL:

Quality of life

BCS:

Breast cancer survivor

PA:

Physical activity

PWB:

Physical well-being

SWB:

Social well-being

EWB:

Emotional well-being

FWB:

Functional well-being

AC:

Additional concerns

TOI:

Trial outcome index

BMI:

Body mass index

BEAT Cancer:

Better exercise adherence after treatment for cancer

IRB:

Institutional review board

UC:

Usual care

MVPA:

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity

WOMAC:

Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis

FACT-Breast:

Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast

FACT-G:

Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General

RUCC:

Agriculture Rural–Urban Continuum Codes

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Acknowledgements

The authors are exceptionally grateful for the efforts of the 222 survivors of breast cancer who participated in this study.

Funding

This research was supported by National Institutes of Health grants (grant numbers R01CA136859, P30DK056336, R25CA47888, and CA047888).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Erica Schleicher & Dorothy Pekmezi

  2. O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, AL, USA

    Erica Schleicher, Robert A. Oster, Dorothy Pekmezi & Laura Q. Rogers

  3. Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Edward McAuley

  4. The Cancer Center at Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA

    Edward McAuley

  5. Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Kerry S. Courneya

  6. School of Human Sciences, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, USA

    Phillip Anton

  7. Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Diane K. Ehlers

  8. Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Siobhan M. Phillips

  9. Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Robert A. Oster & Laura Q. Rogers

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  1. Erica Schleicher
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Contributions

Edward McAuley, Kerry S Courneya, Phillip Anton, Diane K. Ehlers, Siobhan M. Phillips, and Laura Q Rogers contributed to the study conception, design, material preparation, and data collection. Statistical analyses were conducted by Robert Oster, Laura Q Rogers, and Erica Schleicher. Erica Schleicher wrote the manuscript and all co-authors reviewed and revised. Final approval was given by all authors before submitting for publication.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erica Schleicher.

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Ethics approval and consent

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (June 2009). Institutional review board (IRB) approval was obtained.

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All participants provided written informed consent to participant in this study.

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The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of their data.

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Schleicher, E., McAuley, E., Courneya, K.S. et al. Moderators of physical activity and quality of life response to a physical activity intervention for breast cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer 31, 53 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-022-07477-6

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