Randomised controlled trial of a home-based physical activity intervention in breast cancer survivors

<strong>Randomised controlled trial of a home-based physical activity intervention in breast cancer survivors</strong> <b>ABSTRACT</b> <b>Background: </b>To improve adherence to physical activity (PA), behavioural support in the form of behavioural change counselling may be necessary. However, limited evidence of the<b> </b>effectiveness of home-based PA combined with counselling in breast cancer patients exists.<b> </b>The aim of this current randomised controlled trial with a parallel group design was to<b> </b>evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based PA intervention on PA levels, anthropometric<b> </b>measures, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and blood biomarkers in breast cancer<b> </b>survivors. <b>Methods: </b>Eighty post-adjuvant therapy invasive breast cancer patients (age=53.6±9.4yrs;<b> </b>height=161.2±6.8cm; mass=68.7±10.5kg) were randomly allocated to a six-month home based PA intervention or usual care. The intervention group received face-to-face and<b> </b>telephone PA counselling aimed at encouraging the achievement of current recommended<b> </b>PA guidelines. All patients were evaluated for our primary outcome, PA (International PA<b> </b>Questionnaire) and secondary outcomes, mass, BMI, body fat %, HRQoL, insulin resistance,<b> </b>triglycerides (TG) and total (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein<b> </b>(LDL-C) cholesterol were assessed at baseline and at 6-months. <b>Results: </b>On the basis of linear mixed-model analyses adjusted for baseline values<b> </b>performed on 40 patients in each group, total, leisure and vigorous PA significantly<b> </b>increased from baseline to post-intervention in the intervention compared to usual care<b> </b>(between-group differences, 578.5 MET-min・wk^-1, p=.024, 382.2 MET-min・wk^-1, p=.010, and<b> </b>264.1 MET-min・wk^-1, p=.007, respectively). Both body mass and BMI decreased significantly<b> </b>in the intervention compared to usual care (between-group differences, -1.6 kg, p=.040, and<b> </b>-.6 kg/m², p=.020, respectively). Of the HRQoL variables, FACT-Breast, Trial Outcome<b> </b>Index, functional wellbeing, and breast cancer subscale improved significantly in the PA<b> </b>group compared to the usual care group (between-group differences, 5.1, p<i>=</i>.024; 5.6,<b> </b>p=.001; 1.9 p=.025; and 2.8, p<i>=</i>.007, respectively). Finally, TC and LDL-C was significantly<b> </b>reduced in the PA group compared to the usual care group (between-group differences, -.38<b> </b>mmol・L^-1, p<i>=</i>.001; and -.3 mmol・L^-1, p<i>=</i>.023, respectively).<b>Conclusions: </b>We found that home-based PA resulted in significant albeit small to moderate<b> </b>improvements in self-reported PA, mass, BMI, breast cancer specific HRQoL, and TC and<b> </b>LDL-C compared with usual care. <br><br><br>