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Physical activity, health‐related quality of life, and adjuvant endocrine therapy–related symptoms in women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer
Author(s) -
Sheppard Vanessa B.,
Dash Chiranjeev,
Nomura Sarah,
Sutton Arnethea L.,
Franco Robert Lee,
Lucas Alexander,
Ross Masey,
AdamsCampbell Lucile
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.33054
Subject(s) - medicine , breast cancer , body mass index , quality of life (healthcare) , tamoxifen , oncology , cancer , hormone therapy , cohort , multivariate analysis , gynecology , nursing
Background Physical activity (PA) is recommended for women with breast cancer (BC); however, data are sparse on the association of PA with quality of life (QOL) and patient‐reported symptoms for women on adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET). Methods Women with hormone receptor–positive BC who were taking AET completed standardized surveys about their health‐related QOL, AET‐related symptoms, and levels of PA using validated measures. A Wald chi‐square test and an analysis of variance were used to assess associations with PA and independent variables. Generalized linear regression analyses assessed associations between PA, QOL, and AET‐related symptoms. Results The analytic cohort included 485 Black and White women. Black race, a high body mass index (BMI), and being on aromatase inhibitors (vs tamoxifen) were associated with lower PA in a bivariate analysis. In a multivariate analysis, lower self‐reported PA was associated with a high BMI ( P = .02) and chemotherapy uptake ( P = .006). Better health‐related QOL ( P = .01), less severe overall AET‐related symptoms ( P = .02), and less severe gynecological symptoms ( P = .03) were associated with increasing levels of moderate PA. Conclusions Among women taking AET, moderate levels of PA may be associated with fewer medication‐related symptoms and overall better ratings of health‐related QOL. Because of the low levels of PA observed in the sample overall and particularly for Black women, identifying successful strategies to promote PA are needed.