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Physical activity and health-related quality of life among postmenopausal women with breast cancer treated with aromatase inhibitors

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Abstract

Purpose

Breast cancer is the most common non-cutaneous cancer in women with an estimated 268,600 new cases diagnosed in 2019, joining the over 3 million women living with the disease. To reduce cancer recurrence, postmenopausal women (highest incidence and prevalence of breast cancer) who test positive for hormone receptors in their tumors are candidates for adjuvant endocrine therapy (i.e., aromatase inhibitors [AIs]). Despite the benefits of AIs in the treatment for breast cancer, many women remain at risk for complications, including osteoporosis and fractures, all of which can adversely affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Increased attention is being paid to the role physical activity (PA) may have in improving health outcomes in survivors of breast cancer, but few studies focus on postmenopausal women. We sought to examine (1) the percentage of women in our sample meeting (or not meeting) the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) PA recommendations, (2) the relationship between AI use and three types of PA (leisure time, strength training, and walking), and (3) the relationship between PA and HRQoL by AI use, controlling for covariates.

Methods

Postmenopausal women with breast cancer (n = 170), ages 50–95 years (M = 68.7), diagnosed with stage 1–3 disease, 45% on AIs, were recruited. Demographic, HRQoL, and PA data were collected via patient self-report, while clinical data (AI use) were abstracted from patient medical records. To address study aims, we utilized descriptive statistics, chi-square analyses, and multiple linear regressions, respectively.

Results

Half of the sample met the ACSM recommendations for total leisure-time PA (vigorous and moderate intensity combined), and 65.3% (n = 111) weekly walking. With regard to strength training, 36.5% of the women met these ACSM recommendations. Generally, there were positive relationships between AI use and most HRQoL domains. There were no statistically significant relationships between PA (meeting recommendations or not) and HRQoL by AI use.

Conclusion

The proportion of women meeting guidelines for walking activity was encouraging. It is imperative that healthcare professionals providing care to breast cancer survivors follow up regarding symptoms, side effects, and physical activity in tandem to fully understand their relationship on an individual level.

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Data availability

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the funding organization of the University of Connecticut’s InCHIP as well as the participants of the current study.

Funding

The research of the current study was funded by an internal seed grant from the University of Connecticut’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, 348 Mansfield Road, U-1058, Storrs, CT, 06269-1058, USA

    K. E. Dibble, K. M. Bellizzi, L. S. Pescatello, E. D. Schifano & S. Guarneri

  2. UConn Health, Farmington, CT, USA

    P. Taxel & S. Tannenbaum

  3. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    E. J. Siembida

Authors
  1. K. E. Dibble
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  2. K. M. Bellizzi
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  3. P. Taxel
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  4. L. S. Pescatello
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  5. E. J. Siembida
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  6. E. D. Schifano
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  7. S. Guarneri
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  8. S. Tannenbaum
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All authors listed have actively participated in composition, editing, and review of the current manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. E. Dibble.

Ethics declarations

The study was performed with the approval of the Institutional Review Boards of UConn Health and the University of Connecticut (UConn) Storrs (the main campus of the public research university located in Storrs, CT).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Dibble, K.E., Bellizzi, K.M., Taxel, P. et al. Physical activity and health-related quality of life among postmenopausal women with breast cancer treated with aromatase inhibitors. Support Care Cancer 29, 2385–2394 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05741-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05741-1

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