RESEARCH REPORT PLATFORM PRESENTATION

AEROBIC EXERCISE TRAINING EFFECTS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER. Adams Jr J¹, Kline J¹, Kim S¹, Drouin J¹, Birk T²; ¹University Of Michigan-Flint, United States. ²Wayne State University-Detroit, United States

PURPOSE: Early evidence suggests there are physiological and psychological differences between African Americans (AA) and Caucasians (CC) during and after treatment for breast cancer. Although exercise has been found to promote physiological and psychological factors during breast cancer treatment, no studies were found that examined the effects of aerobic exercise training in AA women or that compared training adaptations with Caucasian women. RELEVANCE: There is limited evidence to support rehabilitation practices during treatment for cancer in racial and ethnic minorities. This study provides physical therapists with evidence on the efficacy of aerobic exercise training during radiation treatment for breast cancer in AA women to enable safe and effective design of rehabilitation interventions. PARTICIPANTS: Following human subject approvals, 7 AA and 6 CC women were recruited through oncologists. Participants were between age 35 and 65, scheduled for radiation for breast cancer [stage 0 (Ductal Carcinoma Insitu) to III), and sedentary for 3 months prior to the study. METHODS: Participants performed self monitored walking, 3-5 days per week, at 50-70% of their measured maximum heart rates, during seven weeks of radiation. Pre and post tests were administered one week before and one week following the radiation regimen. Tests included symptom limited graded exercise testing with oxygen uptake analysis, serum blood draws, Profile of Mood States, Revised-Piper Fatigue Scales, Kilogram weight, Skin Caliper measures, and Body Mass Index. ANALYSIS: Wilcoxon Signed Rank examined pre-post differences and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U assessed between group differences (p < 0.05). RESULTS: AA physiologic measures for peak VO2 (p = .001), lactate threshold (p = .014), treadmill time (p = .014) and maximum pulse oxygen (p = .014) improved significantly, while resting heart rate (p = .034) increased significantly. All AA anthropometric measures improved significantly (p = .014). Compared to CC participants, AA physiologic measures were significantly lower for peak VO2 (p = .037) and treadmill time (p = .023), and higher for resting heart rate (p = .025), and resting (p = .043) and maximum (p = .013) diastolic pressures. Serum erythrocytes increased non-significantly in both groups, while serum immune measures declined significantly in both groups. Final fatigue (p = .058) and psychological (p = .10) measures were better in AA participants however differences were not statistically significant between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study suggest that AA women experience significant improvements in physiologic and anthropometric measures from aerobic exercise training during radiation for breast cancer; however final physiological measures for fitness, resting heart rates, diastolic blood pressures, and body composition were poorer than in CC participants. Interestingly, although having lower fitness, AA women reported less fatigue and had higher psychological scores than CC women. IMPLICATIONS: This study provides physical therapists with evidence for the efficacy of aerobic exercise training during radiation for breast cancer in AA women. Future study is recommended on whether these changes positively affect physical function, health, and survival rates in AA women, as well as reasons for the differences observed between AA and CC women. KEYWORDS: Breast Cancer; Aerobic Exercise; African American; Women. FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Elsa U Pardee Foundation – Midland, Mi; Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation – White Plains, NY. CONTACT: jeromea@umflint.edu

ETHICS COMMITTEE: Wayne State University and Karmanos Cancer Institute (Both Detroit, MI, United States)