A 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy significantly improved functional capacity from baseline (FACIT score 112 vs 127; p=0.02).
RCT (n=11)
Randomly assigned
No
Does a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation programme improve functional capacity and body composition in breast cancer patients undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy?
A 12-week cardiac rehabilitation programme significantly improved functional capacity in breast cancer patients undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy, though larger studies are needed.
Absolute Event Rate: 127% vs 112%
p-value: p=0.02
Abstract Introduction Breast cancer anthracycline-based chemotherapies (AC) carries a high risk of cardiotoxicity and functional decline. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) modelled programmes may help mitigate these effects, but their cardiovascular impact in this population remains unclear. Aim To evaluate the cardiovascular and functional effects of a 12-week CR–modelled programme in breast cancer patients during and after AC. Methods This prospective single-center study included breast cancer patients diagnosed in 2022 and referred for CR during AC. Patients were randomly assigned to 12-week CR exercise sessions or during AC (CRduringAC) or after AC (CRafterAC). The 12-week programme comprised two supervised weekly sessions (90min/session) and one unsupervised aerobic session, integrating moderate-intensity cycling, strength, and functional training, plus an optional home-based aerobic activity. Body composition, echocardiography, functional assessment of chronical illness (FACIT), muscle strength (handgrip) and a ramp symptom-limited cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Results From a total cohort of 113 breast cancer patients undergoing AC with or without trastuzumab, 11 were enrolled in a 12-week exercise-based CR programme (mean age 46 ± 2 years; 10 90% female), of whom 9 completed the intervention. At 3-month follow-up, participants demonstrated a trend toward improved body composition, including reductions in body fat percentage (35 ± 6% vs 31 ± 8%, p=0.09) and increases in muscle mass (61 ± 6% vs 66 ± 8%, p=0.09). CPET parameters showed modest, non-significant gains in functional capacity: peak load/kg (1.5 ± 0.7 vs 1.7 ± 0.7, p=0.10) and peak respiratory exchange ratio (RER) (1.1 ± 0.2 vs 1.2 ± 0.1, p=0.20). Functional capacity assessed via the FACIT score improved significantly (112 ± 19 vs 127 ± 24, p=0.02). Echocardiographic parameters remained stable during follow-up. In subgroup analyses comparing CRduringAC (n=3) versus CRafterAC (n=6), no significant differences were observed, indicating similar trajectories between groups in body composition, echocardiographic parameters, and functional capacity. Conclusion CR-modelled rehabilitation appears to be beneficial for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, leading to improvements in body composition and functional capacity. These findings underscore the need for larger studies to confirm these results and to clarify the role of this approach in supporting chemotherapy tolerance and mitigating cardiotoxicity.For image description, please refer to the figure legend and surrounding text. For image description, please refer to the figure legend and surrounding text.
Salvaterra et al. (Mon,) conducted a rct in Breast cancer undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy (n=11). 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program vs. Cardiac rehabilitation after chemotherapy (or baseline for overall cohort) was evaluated on Functional capacity assessed via the FACIT score (3-month follow-up vs baseline) (p=0.02). A 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy significantly improved functional capacity from baseline (FACIT score 112 vs 127; p=0.02).