Exercise improves fatigue during and after breast and prostate cancer treatment, with benefits seen for aerobic exercise
- Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Correspondence to: Theresa Pluth Yeo
Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 1025 Walnut Street, Suite 605B, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA; Theresa.yeo{at}jefferson.edu
Commentary on: Cramp F, Byron-Daniel J. Exercise for the management of cancer-related fatigue in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012;11:CD006145
Implications for practice and research
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Encouraging cancer patients to follow a structured exercise programme reduces self-reported fatigue.
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The optimal exercise programme (aerobic, resistance, mind–body or a combined programme) remains undecided; however, evidence supports regularly participating in an exercise programme either at home or in a formal facility.
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Longitudinal randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise interventions in cancer patients that include biomarkers of the interacting pathways in cancer-related fatigue, such as the inflammatory, nervous system, metabolic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis, are critically needed.
Context
Cramp and Byron-Daniel conducted a systematic review of studies addressing the important issue of exercise and its therapeutic benefit in reducing cancer-related fatigue (CRF) both during and after cancer treatment. Fatigue is a commonly reported symptom among newly diagnosed cancer patients (70–100%), those undergoing treatment and even long-term survivors. CRF is influenced by tumour factors, muscle …
