Effects of Resistance Training on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Adult Persons with Breast Cancer - A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is the most common and distressing symptom in breast cancer patients. Approximately 40%-80% of cancer patients suffer from CRF. Evidence suggests that exercise improves CRF; however, the specific effects of training modalities are not well understood. This paper aims to analyze the effects of resistance training intervention on cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients. A systematic search of English articles was conducted using PubMed (2014-2019) to identify randomized control trials that evaluated the effects of resistance training on CRF in patients with breast cancer. One another were independently extracted by data for study characteristics; results were used to rate the methodological quality and description of the exercise intervention. Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria for this study. A significant improvement in cancer-related fatigue was observed for the exercise group in all three trials. Resistance training improves CRF in patients with breast cancer and could be considered a safe and effective adjunctive treatment in reducing CRF among breast cancer patients.