1. Introduction
asthenia, dyspnea, cancer-related fatigue, fatigue, breast cancer, cancer, cachexia, sarcopenia, pain, cancer-, depression, anorexia, Cancer-related fatigue
BREAST CANCER, CANCER, ADVANCED CANCER, SARCOPENIA, PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, SECONDARY, ONCOLOGY, ANOREXIA
The increase in life expectancy and survival time implies an increase in the possible side-effects of pharmacological treatments in patients. Cancer-related fatigue is one of these side-effects. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a multimodal program of physical exercise and functional rehabilitation on asthenia, pain, functional capacity, and quality of life in cancer patients with cancer-related fatigue. Methods: This was a randomized, parallel-controlled clinical trial, with two arms (experimental and control group), and it was conducted over the course of a year in the Oncology Hospitalization Unit at the University Hospital of Salamanca, Spain. Participants (n = 48) were assessed at three points during the study. The first assessment was prior to hospital discharge, the second assessment was after 15 days, and the final assessment was at one month post-hospital follow-up. The intervention lasted one month. The main variables studied were the dependency levels (Barthel), cancer-related fatigue (FACT-An), health-related quality of life (EuroQoL-5D), functional capacity (SPPB), and kinesiophobia (TSK-F). Results: Sample size (n = 44). Mean age 63.46 ± 12.36 years. Significant differences between control and experimental group participants in Barthel, FACT-An, TSK-F, and SPPB scores at follow-up and final assessment. Conclusions: There are beneficial effects of a multimodal physical exercise and functional rehabilitation program in improving the autonomy of cancer-related fatigue patients.Advances in the treatment and care of cancer patients have led to an increase in five-year survival in cancer. The increase in life expectancy and survival time implies an increase in people living with side-effects of pharmacological treatments [Cancer-related fatigue, pain, dyspnea, and depression are the main symptoms secondary to cancer treatment [Among these symptoms, cancer- and treatment-related asthenia is the most frequent, and it very negatively affects the quality of life of patients [Although asthenia is sometimes confused with fatigue, it is important to clarify that fatigue is only a symptom of asthenia [Cancer-related fatigue, or the feeling of asthenia, limits and affects the cancer patient’s participation in daily life and activity. This asthenia is usually associated with other alterations, such as cachexia, sarcopenia, and anorexia, due to their pathophysiology links [Some pharmacological treatments have shown beneficial effects on cancer-related asthenia, although with the presence of some adverse side-effects [A complete functional rehabilitation program should be multimodal and have an interdisciplinary biopsychosocial approach (oncologist, nursing, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy) [Because of the clinical complexity of the advanced cancer patient, the selection of the optimal intervention environment is fundamental in their treatment, to try to favor the patient’s ability to self-manage their situation. In previous studies, supervised physical exercise interventions outside the health care setting, both in the community and at home, have shown good results [However, there is currently a lack of studies of multimodal physical exercise and functional rehabilitation programs to assess their effects in patients with cancer-related fatigue outside health care settings. In a health care setting, we can mention the study by Kröz et al. on the influence of a multimodal and multimodal-aerobic therapy concept on health-related quality of life in breast cancer survivors [This study aimed to increase knowledge about the possible effects of an interdisciplinary multimodal physical exercise intervention and a home-based functional rehabilitation program used to develop effective models of care that promote the recovery of personal autonomy in cancer patients with asthenia after hospital discharge, in order to improve their quality of life.The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a multimodal program of physical exercise and functional rehabilitation on asthenia, pain, functional capacity, and quality of life in cancer patients with cancer-related fatigue.