Effect of Exercise Intervention on Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Overweight or Obese Patients With Early-Stage Breast Cancer
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Lee et al found that an aerobic and resistance exercise intervention reduced Framingham Risk Scores (FRS) for cardiovascular disease among overweight or obese women with early-stage breast cancer.
In the single-center trial, 100 women with stage I to III breast cancer who were sedentary, were overweight or obese (body mass index of ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 or body fat of ≥ 30%), and had completed cancer treatment within the prior 6 months were randomly assigned to an exercise group (n = 50) or usual care group (n = 50). The exercise group had supervised aerobic and resistance exercise 3 times per week for 16 weeks. Overall, 55% of women were of Hispanic white race/ethnicity and the mean age was 53.5 years.
Change in Risk Score
At baseline, the mean total FRS was 12.0 in each group, indicating an FRS-predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease of 13.0%. After the intervention, the mean total FRS was 2.0 in the exercise group vs 13.0 in the usual care group (mean difference of −9.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −13.0 to −6.0). These scores corresponded to an FRS-predicted 10-year risk of 2.0% vs 13.0% (difference = −11%, 95% CI = −15.0 to −5.0).
The investigators concluded, “A 16-week supervised aerobic and resistance exercise intervention appeared to reduce the FRS-predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease in women with early-stage breast cancer with overweight condition or obesity.”
Christina M. Dieli-Conwright, PhD, MPH, of the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, is the corresponding author for the JAMA Oncology article.
Disclosure: The study was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. The study authors’ full disclosures can be found at jamanetwork.com.
The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) and does not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of ASCO®.
