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Annals of Oncology Advance Access originally published online on April 1, 2008
Annals of Oncology 2008 19(8):1495-1499; doi:10.1093/annonc/mdn068
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

quality of life/supportive care/palliative care

Effects of an endurance and resistance exercise program on persistent cancer-related fatigue after treatment

F. Dimeo*, S. Schwartz, N. Wesel, A. Voigt and E. Thiel

Department of Hematology, Oncology and Transfusion Medicine, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

* Correspondence to: Dr F. Dimeo, Charité Campus Benjamin Franklin, Germany. Tel: +49-30-8445-2098; Fax: +49-30-8445-4767; E-mail: fernando.dimeo{at}charite.de

Background: Fatigue is a relevant problem of cancer patients during and after treatment. Several studies have shown that exercise can improve quality of life and functional status of cancer patients undergoing chemo- or radiotherapy. However, there is a lack of information about the effects of this intervention on persistent cancer-related fatigue. Therefore, we assessed the effects of an exercise program on cancer-related fatigue after treatment.

Patients and methods: A consecutive series of 32 cancer patients with mild to severe persistent fatigue [scores on the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) > 25] participated in a 3-week exercise program consisting of endurance (30 min walking on a treadmill) and resistance/coordination exercises for the major muscle groups. Fatigue, mood, and anxiety were assessed with questionnaires and physical performance with a stress test before and after the program.

Results: At the end of the program, we observed a significant increase of physical performance (workload at the anaerobic threshold pre 61 ± 26 W, post 78 ± 31 W, P < 0.0001) and reduction of global fatigue (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy: pre 45.7 ± 13.4, post 52.6 ± 12.4, P < 0.0001; BFI: pre 37.9 ± 18.3, post 31.2 ±17.1, P < 0.001). However, no significant improvement of cognitive fatigue or reduction of anxiety was observed.

Conclusions: A 3-week exercise program leads to a substantial improvement of physical performance and reduction of mental and physical fatigue in cancer patients after treatment. However, this intervention does not affect depression, anxiety, or cognitive fatigue.

Key words: Anxiety, cognition, depression, exercise, fatigue, mood, supportive therapy

Received for publication November 15, 2007. Revision received February 20, 2008. Accepted for publication February 21, 2008.


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