Purpose
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, and anthracycline-based chemotherapy has been a cornerstone in the treatment of breast cancer for several decades.Although an increasing number of individuals survive breast cancer, this patient group faces an elevated risk of late effects, including reduced cardiorespiratory fitness and a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases due to the rigorous treatment. Previous studies have indicated that exercise can enhance cardiorespiratory fitness. Still, limited knowledge exists about how exercise influences limiting factors for cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiovascular risk factors, and patient-reported outcomes long after treatment.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of exercise on cardiorespiratory fitness among long-term survivors of breast cancer, as well as to assess the extent to which previous breast cancer treatments may influence exercise response.
Project description
The study is a large randomized controlled trial in which women treated for breast cancer are randomly assigned to two different groups. The exercise group will undergo a training intervention consisting of three exercise sessions per week for five months, while the control group will not engage in any exercise. Additionally, a group of women without a previous history of breast cancer has been included. This group will undergo the same training intervention and serve as a reference. The three groups will undergo a testing day consisting of a series of clinical and physiological examinations (heart ultrasound, muscle biopsy, lung function measurements, blood tests, cardiopulmonary stress test, blood volume measurement, assessment of physical activity levels, and questionnaires) both before and after the intervention period. Furthermore, the groups will be followed up over time, with both questionnaires and tests conducted two years after the completion of the intervention.
