Courneya, K.S., Segal, R.J., Mackey, J.R., Gelmon, K., Reid, R.D., Friedenreich, C.M., . . . McKenzie, D.C. (2007). Effects of aerobic and resistance exercise in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy: A multicenter randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 25, 4396–4404.
The three-armed study reported on an exercise intervention with supervised aerobic exercise (AET) and supervised resistance exercise (RET) versus usual care (UC). The exercise sessions were started one to two weeks after starting chemotherapy and ended three weeks after completion of chemotherapy. Exercise trainers administered the intervention.
Data were collected at three time points: baseline (one to two weeks after starting chemotherapy), midpoint (three to four weeks after starting chemotherapy), and at six-month follow-up.
The study reported on a sample of 242 women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy.
Multiple centers in Canada
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) design was used.
Mixed-model analysis measured at three time points compared the differences across groups in changes over time. Neither AET nor RET interventions significantly improved cancer-specific quality of life, fatigue, depression, or anxiety, although the trends favored the exercise groups. AET improved self-esteem, aerobic fitness, and percent of body fat. RET improved self-esteem, muscle strength, lean body mass, and chemotherapy completion rates.
The study is an RCT with an adequate sample size but null findings for anxiety levels.
The intervention required exercise trainers.