Active for Life After Cancer: a randomized trial examining a lifestyle physical activity program for prostate cancer patients. A randomized trial to increase physical activity in breast cancer survivors. Improved physical fitness of cancer survivors: a randomised controlled trial comparing physical training with physical and cognitive-behavioural training. Motivational interviewing to increase physical activity in long-term cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial. A brief intervention for fatigue management in breast cancer survivors. Improving the quality of life of patients with prostate carcinoma: a randomized trial testing the efficacy of a nurse-driven intervention. Lifestyle intervention development study to improve physical function in older adults with cancer: outcomes from Project LEAD. "Between Men": a psychosocial rehabilitation programme for men with prostate cancer. Lifestyle and health-related quality of life of men with prostate cancer managed with active surveillance. Main outcomes of the FRESH START trial: a sequentially tailored, diet and exercise mailed print intervention among breast and prostate cancer survivors.
Active for Life After Cancer is a randomized trial evaluating the efficacy of a 6-month group-based lifestyle physical activity program (Lifestyle) for prostate cancer patients to improve quality of life (QOL) including physical and emotional functioning compared to a group-based Educational Support Program and a Standard Care Program (no group).
                A total of 134 prostate cancer patients receiving continuous androgen-ablation were randomly assigned to one of the three study conditions.
                Results indicated no significant improvements in QOL at 6 or 12 months. Both group-based programs were positively received and yielded good attendance and retention. Lifestyle participants demonstrated significant improvements in most theoretical mediators proposed by the Transtheoretical Model and Social Cognitive Theory to affect physical activity. Despite these improvements, no significant changes were found for most physical activity measures.
                Results suggest a lifestyle program focusing on cognitive-behavioral skills training alone is insufficient for promoting routine physical activity in these patients. Interventions to increase physical activity among breast cancer survivors are needed to improve health and quality of life and possibly to reduce the risk of disease recurrence and early mortality. Therefore, we report the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a pilot randomized trial designed to increase physical activity in sedentary breast cancer survivors receiving hormone therapy.
                Forty-one sedentary women on estrogen receptor modulators or aromatase inhibitors for stage I, II, or IIIA breast cancer were randomly assigned to receive a 12-wk multidisciplinary physical activity behavior change intervention or usual care.
                Recruitment was 34%, intervention adherence was 99%, and complete follow-up data were obtained on 93%. Most participants (93%) were white with mean age of 53 +/- 9 yr. Differences favoring the intervention group were noted for accelerometer physical activity counts (mean difference = 72,103; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 25,383-119,000; effect size (d) = 1.02; P = 0.004), aerobic fitness (mean difference = 2.9; 95% CI = -0.1 to 5.8; d = 0.64; P = 0.058), back/leg muscle strength (mean difference = 12.3; 95% CI = 0.4-15.9; d = 0.81; P = 0.017), waist-to-hip ratio (mean difference = -0.05; 95% CI = -0.01 to -0.08; d = -0.77; P = 0.018), and social well-being (mean difference = 2.0; 95% CI = 0.3-3.8; d = 0.76; P = 0.03). However, the intervention group also reported a greater increase in joint stiffness (mean difference = 1.1; 95% CI = 0.1-2.2; d = 0.70; P = 0.04).
                A behavior change intervention for breast cancer survivors based on the social cognitive theory is feasible and results in potentially meaningful improvements in physical activity and selected health outcomes. Confirmation in a larger study is warranted. We compared the effect of a group-based 12-week supervised exercise programme, i.e. aerobic and resistance exercise, and group sports, with that of the same programme combined with cognitive-behavioural training on physical fitness and activity of cancer survivors. One hundred and forty seven cancer survivors (all cancer types, medical treatment >or=3 months ago)were randomly assigned to physical training (PT, n=71) or PT plus cognitive-behavioural training (PT+CBT, n=76). Maximal aerobic capacity, muscle strength and physical activity were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Analyses using multilevel linear mixed-effects models showed that cancer survivors' physical fitness increased significantly in PT and PT+CBT from baseline to post-intervention. Changes did not differ between PT and PT+CBT. Physical fitness of cancer survivors was improved following an intensive physical training programme. Adding a structured cognitive-behavioural intervention did not enhance the effect. Physical activity can confer many benefits on cancer survivors, including relief of persistent symptoms related to cancer treatment.
                To evaluate the effect of a motivational interviewing (MI) intervention on increasing physical activity (Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors questionnaire) and improving aerobic fitness (6-minute walk), health (Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36), and fatigue (Schwartz Cancer Fatigue Scale) in cancer survivors. A secondary purpose was to evaluate whether the effect of MI on physical activities depended on self-efficacy.
                Fifty-six physically inactive adult cancer survivors (mean=42 months since completion of treatment) were assigned randomly to intervention and control groups. The MI intervention consisted of one in-person counseling session followed by two MI telephone calls over 6 months. Control group participants received two telephone calls without MI content. Outcomes were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months, and were analyzed using multilevel modeling.
                The results of the MI intervention explained significant group differences in regular physical activities (measured in caloric expenditure per week), controlling for time since completion of cancer treatment (p<.05). Aerobic fitness, physical and mental health, and fatigue were not different between groups. In the intervention group, individuals with high self-efficacy for exercise at baseline increased their physical activity more than those with low self-efficacy (p<.05). In the control group, increases in physical activity did not depend on self-efficacy.
                Use of MI may increase physical activity in long-term cancer survivors, especially in persons with high self-efficacy for exercise. Multilevel modeling analysis revealed individual changes that would not have been shown by analysis of group means. Future studies with larger samples or more intense MI interventions may show changes in aerobic fitness, physical and mental health, and fatigue. The purpose of this randomized control trial was to verify the effectiveness of a brief group intervention that combines stress management psycho-education and physical activity (ie, independent variable) intervention in reducing fatigue and improving energy level, quality of life (mental and physical), fitness (VO 2submax), and emotional distress (ie, dependent variables) in breast cancer survivors. This study applied Lazarus and Folkman stress-coping theoretical framework, as well as Salmon's unifying theory of physical activity. Eighty-seven French-speaking women who had completed their treatments for nonmetastatic breast cancer at a university hospital in Quebec City, Canada, were randomly assigned to either the group intervention (experimental) or the usual-care (control) condition. Data were collected at baseline, postintervention, and at 3-month follow-up. The 4-week group intervention was cofacilitated by 2 nurses. Results showed that participants in the intervention group showed greater improvement in fatigue, energy level, and emotional distress at 3-month follow-up, and physical quality of life at postintervention, compared with the participants in the control group. These results suggest that a brief psycho-educational group intervention focusing on active coping strategies and physical activity is beneficial to cancer survivors after breast cancer treatments. Treatments for clinically localized prostate carcinoma are accompanied by sexual, urinary, and bowel dysfunction and other sequelae that can result in significant distress and reduced well being. Methods capable of improving quality of life are needed that can be integrated into clinical practice. To address this need, a nurse-driven, cancer care intervention was developed and tested.
                Within 6 weeks after completing treatment, 99 patients, along with their partners, were enrolled into a prospective, controlled trial and were randomized to receive the cancer care intervention or to receive standard care. Participants in the intervention arm met once each month for 6 months with an oncology nurse intervenor, who helped patients identify their quality-of-life needs using an interactive computer program. The intervener then provided education and support tailored to participants' needs. Primary outcome variables included 1) disease-specific quality of life, including sexual, urinary, and bowel outcomes and cancer worry; 2) depression; 3) dyadic adjustment; and 4) general quality of life. Outcomes data were collected prior to randomization and again at 4 months, 7 months, and 12 months posttreatment.
                Patients in the intervention arm experienced long-term improvements in quality-of-life outcomes related to sexual functioning and cancer worry compared with patients who received standard care. Baseline depression moderated the impact of the intervention on several other quality-of-life outcomes.
                The findings of the current study indicated that a computer-assisted, nurse-driven intervention was capable of providing durable improvements in the quality of life of men who underwent treatment for clinically localized prostate carcinoma. Declines in physical functioning (PF) among elderly cancer patients threaten quality of life and the ability to maintain independence. Adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors may prevent functional decline.
                Project Leading the Way in Exercise and Diet (LEAD), an intervention development study of the Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, aimed to determine whether breast and prostate cancer survivors (age 65+ years) assigned to a 6-month home-based diet and exercise intervention experienced improvements in PF when compared with an attention control arm receiving general health information. An accrual target was set at 420, and PF (Short Form-36 subscale), physical activity (Community Healthy Activities Models Program for Seniors), and diet quality (index from 3-day recalls) were assessed at baseline and at 6 and 12 months (6 months after intervention).
                This developmental project did not achieve its accrual target (N = 182); however, PF change scores were in the direction and of the magnitude projected. Baseline to 6-month change scores in the intervention versus the control arms were as follows: PF, +3.1 v -0.5 (P = .23); physical activity energy expenditure, +111 kcal/wk v -400 kcal/wk (P = .13); and diet quality index, +2.2 v -2.9 (P = .003), respectively. Differences between arms diminished during the postintervention period.
                These findings suggest that home-based diet and exercise interventions hold promise in improving lifestyle behaviors among older cancer survivors, changes that trend toward improved PF. Future studies should incorporate larger sample sizes and interventions that sustain long-term effects and also take into account secular trends; these efforts will require adequate planning and resources to overcome the numerous barriers to intervening in this difficult to reach yet vulnerable population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of psychosocial rehabilitation on newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. The "Between Men" programme consisted of seven weekly sessions of physical training (Phys) alone, information (Info) alone or physical training plus information (PhysInfo). After diagnoses, patients (n = 211) were consecutively included, stratified and randomised to one of four groups: Phys, Info, PhysInfo or standard care control (C). A nurse specialised in urology, an urologist and a physiotherapist performed the interventions. Patients were followed up during one year with mailed standardised questionnaires. It could not be assumed that the "Between Men" programme had any effect on patients' anxiety and depression (HADS). Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was associated with stage of disease but not with psychosocial intervention. Thus, Physical Function (PF), Role Function (RF) and Fatigue (FA) were inferior among patients with, than without, metastases of prostate cancer both at baseline and at the 12-month follow-up. This randomized study did not demonstrate any significant effect of psychosocial rehabilitation among prostate cancer patients. Considering the low rate (1/2), of included/eligible patients a less complicated design (intervention versus control) would have been preferred in order to increase power. To assess the impact of lifestyle on health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), perceived stress, and self-reported sexual function in men with early-stage prostate cancer electing active surveillance.
                A total of 44 intervention and 49 usual-care control participants were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial examining the effects of lifestyle changes on prostate cancer progression. The intervention consisted of a low-fat, vegan diet, exercise, and stress management. Participants completed the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Status Survey (a measure of mental and physical HR-QOL), the Perceived Stress Scale, the Sexual Function subscale of the University of California, Los Angeles, Prostate Cancer Index, and measures of lifestyle behaviors (to yield an overall lifestyle index) at baseline and 12 months. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance for repeated measures. The relationship between lifestyle and QOL was also analyzed using multiple linear regression analyses.
                Intervention participants had significantly improved their lifestyle compared with controls at 12 months. The quality-of-life scores were high across groups and time points. However, a healthier lifestyle was related to better QOL at baseline. Participants in both groups who reported a healthier lifestyle also reported better mental and physical HR-QOL and sexual function. Furthermore, participants whose lifestyle improved over time showed enhanced physical HR-QOL and decreased perceived stress.
                Men who choose active surveillance for early-stage prostate cancer are able to make comprehensive lifestyle changes. Although the average QOL was already high in this sample, individuals who improved their lifestyle enhanced their QOL further. Cancer survivors are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and second primary tumors. Healthful lifestyle practices may improve the health and well-being of survivors. The FRESH START trial tested the efficacy of sequentially tailored versus standardized mailed materials on improving cancer survivors' diet and exercise behaviors.
                Five hundred forty-three individuals with newly diagnosed locoregional breast or prostate cancer were recruited from 39 states and two provinces within North America. Participants were randomly assigned either to a 10-month program of tailored mailed print materials promoting fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption, reducing total/saturated fat intake, and/or increasing exercise or to a 10-month program of nontailored mailed materials on diet and exercise available in the public domain. Telephone surveys conducted at baseline and 1 year assessed body mass index (BMI), dietary consumption, physical activity, and other psychosocial/behavioral indices. Clinical assessments were conducted on a 23% subsample; information was used to validate self-reports.
                Five hundred nineteen participants completed the 1-year follow-up (4.4% attrition; sample characteristics: 57 +/- 10.8 years old, 83% white, 56% female, 64% overweight/obese, and 0% underweight). Although both arms significantly improved their lifestyle behaviors (P < .05), significantly greater gains occurred in the FRESH START intervention versus the control arm (practice of two or more goal behaviors: +34% v +18%, P < .0001; exercise minutes per week: +59.3 v +39.2 minutes, P = .02; F&V per day: +1.1 v +0.6 servings, P = .01; total fat: -4.4% v -2.1%, P < .0001; saturated fat: -1.3% v -0.3%, P < .0001; and BMI: -0.3 v +0.1 kg/m2, respectively, P = .004).
                Mailed material interventions, especially those that are tailored, are effective in promoting healthful lifestyle changes among cancer survivors. Further study is needed to determine sustainability, cost to benefit, and generalizability to other cancer populations.
There is some evidence to support the effectiveness of brief, focused MDRPs for cancer survivors. Rigorous and methodologically sound clinical trials that include an economic analysis are required.