Cancer patients can benefit from taking exercise after their treatment is complete, researchers say today.
It may help patients to restart their usual daily activities, which may otherwise be hindered by fatigue. Their quality of life can also be boosted, says Dr Judy Ho of the University of Hong Kong, writing in the British Medical Journal.
Her team analysed the results of 34 trials of exercise – aerobic, resistance and strength training – in adult cancer patients. The trials included an average of 93 patients with either breast, prostate, gynaecologic, colorectal, gastric or lung cancer, who took part in exercise for about 13 weeks.
For breast cancer patients, the physical activity was linked to improvements in blood sugar control, body mass index and body weight, lower limb strength, fatigue, depression and quality of life.
Similar improvements were seen for patients treated for other types of cancer, including reduced body weight, improved physical function such as oxygen consumption and handgrip strength, depression, and quality of life.
The type and intensity of the exercise appeared to be significant, with breast cancer patients having a greater benefit from the combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training. This improved their physical fitness, "emotional fitness", overall well-being and concerns about breast cancer to a greater extent than aerobic activity alone.
The authors believe that, although more trials are needed, their results show that "quality of life was a clear significant benefit of physical activity and that clinically, there were important positive effects on physical functions and quality of life".
In an editorial, Dr Liam Bourke of Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK, and colleagues say that more information is needed on how to support long-term healthy lifestyle behaviours "in an economic climate of shrinking healthcare budgets".
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