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

Protocol for Moving On: a randomized controlled trial to increase outcome expectations and exercise among breast cancer survivors

Aim

The aim of this study was to test the feasibility and fidelity of an intervention, Moving On, aimed to increase outcome expectations OEs (i.e. what one expects to obtain or avoid as a result of a behaviour) and exercise among breast cancer survivors.

Design

Randomized controlled trial.

Methods

Intervention arm participants will be given a theory-guided booklet that was co-created by the research team and three physically active breast cancer survivors who exercise to manage late and long-term treatment effects. Attention control arm participants will be given a similar booklet focused on diet. Participants will have 1 week to complete reading, writing and reflecting activities in the booklets. Study outcomes will be measured through online surveys; exercise will also be measured objectively with a Fitbit®. Four weeks postintervention, participants' thoughts about the usefulness, strengths and weakness of the intervention booklet will be assessed. OEs and exercise will be measured at baseline, 4-, 8- and 12-week postintervention.

Home-based multidimensional survivorship programmes for breast cancer survivors

BACKGROUND

The prognosis and survival rate of women with breast cancer have significantly improved worldwide. Effective home-based multidimensional programmes for breast cancer survivors have gained an ever greater emphasis in survivorship care to maximise women's quality of life for their successful transition to rehabilitation and normal life. It is important to summarise the best available evidence to evaluate the effects of home-based multidimensional survivorship programmes on quality of life in women within 10 years of the completion of surgery or adjuvant cancer therapy for breast cancer, or both.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of home-based, multidimensional survivorship (HBMS) programmes on maintaining or improving the quality of life in breast cancer survivors.

SEARCH METHODS

In April 2016 we searched the Cochrane Breast Cancer Specialised Register, CENTRAL, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP) and ClinicalTrials.gov. We also screened reference lists of all identified studies and contacted study authors.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs assessing the effects of HBMS programmes in maintaining or improving quality of life in women with stages 0 to 3 breast cancer who completed primary cancer treatment (surgery or adjuvant cancer therapy, or both) up to 10 years earlier. We considered studies where the interventions included more than one of the following listed components: educational (such as information provision and self-management advice), physical (such as exercise training and resistance training) and psychological (such as counselling and cognitive therapies), to constitute a multidimensional programme. Interventions had to be allowed to be carried out at home.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two authors independently assessed eligible studies for inclusion, and performed quality assessment and extracted relevant data of the included studies. Quality of life was the primary outcome of the review.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 22 RCTs and four quasi-RCTs on 2272 participants. We categorised the intervention components into four groups: educational and psychological; educational and physical; physical and psychological; and educational, physical and psychological. Most of the studies used usual care (routine medical follow-up services) as the comparator. A few studies used a lower level or different type of intervention (e.g. stress management or exercise) or attention control as the comparator.We used the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT B), European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life C30 (EORTC C30), Quality of Life (QoL) Breast Cancer, and SF36 questionnaires to assess quality of life. HBMS programmes may increase breast cancer-specific quality of life and global quality of life immediately after the intervention, as measured by FACT-B and EORTC C30 (FACT-B: mean difference (MD) 4.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.33 to 6.78, 7 studies, 764 participants; EORTC: MD 4.38, 95% CI 0.11 to 8.64, 6 studies; 299 participants; moderate-quality evidence). There was no evidence of a difference in quality of life as measured by QoL-Breast Cancer or SF-36 (QoL-Breast Cancer: MD 0.42, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.85, 2 studies, 111 participants, very low-quality evidence; physical composite score SF36: MD 0.55, 95% CI -3.52 to 4.63, 2 studies, 308 participants, low-quality evidence).We observed a similar pattern at one to three months after the intervention: FACT-B (MD 6.10, 95% CI 2.48 to 9.72, 2 studies, 426 participants), EORTC-C30 (MD 6.32, 95% CI 0.61 to 12.04, 2 studies; 172 participants) and QoL-Breast Cancer (MD 0.45, 95% CI -0.19 to 1.09, 1 study, 61 participants). At four to six months and 12 months, there was no evidence of a difference in quality of life between groups (four to six months: EORTC - MD 0.08, 95% CI -7.28 to 7.44, 2 studies; 117 participants; SF-36 - MD -1.05, 95% CI -5.60 to 3.51, 2 studies, 308 participants; 12 months: EORTC - MD 2.04, 95% CI -9.91 to 13.99, 1 study; 57 participants).Functional status was incorporated into the quality of life subscale findings. HBMS programmes may decrease anxiety (MD of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) -1.01, 95% CI -1.94 to -0.08, 5 studies, 253 participants, low-quality evidence) compared to control immediately after the intervention but the effect did not persist at four to six months. There was no evidence of improvements in depression immediately after HBMS (MD of HADS -1.36, 95% CI -2.94 to 0.22, 4 studies, 213 participants, low-quality evidence) or at follow-up. HBMS programmes may also decrease fatigue (MD -1.11, 95% CI -1.78 to -0.45, 3 studies, 127 participants; low-quality evidence) and insomnia (MD -1.81, 95% CI -3.34 to -0.27, 3 studies, 185 participants, low-quality evidence).None of the included studies reported service needs and utilisation and cost of care, and therefore the effect of HBMS programmes on healthcare utilisation and cost is unknown. Due to the variations in assessment methods of adherence among the eight studies, we could not combine the results for meta-analysis. We synthesised the results narratively, with the reported adherence rates of 58% to 100%.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that HBMS programmes in breast cancer survivors appear to have a short-term beneficial effect of improving breast cancer-specific quality of life and global quality of life as measured by FACT-B and EORTC-C30, respectively. In addition, HBMS programmes are associated with a reduction in anxiety, fatigue and insomnia immediately after the intervention. We assessed the quality of evidence across studies as moderate for some outcomes, meaning that we are fairly confident about the results, while we assessed other outcomes as being low-quality, meaning that we are uncertain about the result.

The effects of a home-based physical activity intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness in breast cancer survivors; a randomised controlled trial

The aim of this current randomised controlled trial was to evaluate the effects of a home-based physical activity (PA) intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness in breast cancer survivors. Thirty-two post-adjuvant therapy breast cancer survivors (age = 52 ± 10 years; BMI = 27.2 ± 4.4 kg∙m²) were randomised to a six-month home-based PA intervention with face-to-face and telephone PA counselling or usual care. Cardiorespiratory fitness and self-reported PA were assessed at baseline and at six-months. Participants had a mean relative V̇O₂max of 25.3 ± 4.7 ml∙kg^-1∙min^-1, which is categorised as "poor" according to age and gender matched normative values. Magnitude-based inference analyses revealed likely at least small beneficial effects (effect sizes ≥.20) on absolute and relative V̇O₂ max (d = .44 and .40, respectively), and total and moderate PA (d = .73 and .59, respectively) in the intervention compared to the usual care group. We found no likely beneficial improvements in any other outcome. Our home-based PA intervention led to likely beneficial, albeit modest, increases in cardiorespiratory fitness and self-reported PA in breast cancer survivors. This intervention has the potential for widespread implementation and adoption, which could considerably impact on post-treatment recovery in this population.

[Breast cancer and diabetes mellitus: Complex interactions]

The aim of this literature review was to quantify the incidence and mortality of breast cancer for women treated for a diabetes mellitus and to analyze the complex relationship between these two common diseases.

METHODS

The articles analyzed were extracted from the PubMed database from 2000 to 2015. A total of 22 case/control studies or cohorts were retained, allowing the realization of a meta-analysis.

RESULTS

The incidence of breast cancer for women with diabetes is significantly increased for cohorts (RR=1.32; 95% CI: 1.06 to 1.65) and not significantly for case/control studies (RR=1.46; 95% CI: 0.99 to 2.26). Overall, mortality of women with breast cancer is significantly increased for diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic patients (RR=1.53; 95% CI: 1.23 to 1.90). The links between diabetes and breast cancer are explained by common risk factors (overweight/obesity, qualitative and quantitative dietary errors, physical inactivity), biological changes and the impact of some anti-diabetic treatments or hormonotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Physicians facing a diabetic patient treated for breast cancer have a role in choosing the best anti-diabetic treatment and implementing lifestyle modifications. Diabetic women without breast cancer should participate in organized breast screening programs and have an annual breast clinical examination.