title: Sustainable impact of an individualized exercise program on physical activity level and fatigue syndrome on breast cancer patients in two German rehabilitation centers.
abstract: Although physical activity has been demonstrated to increase cancer survival in epidemiological studies, breast cancer patients tend toward inactivity after treatment.
  
  
  
  Breast cancer patients were quasi-randomly allocated to two different groups, intervention (IG) and control (CG) groups. The intervention group (n = 111) received an individual 3-week exercise program with two additional 1-week inpatient stays after 4 and 8 months. At the end of the rehabilitation, a home-based exercise program was designed. The control group (n = 83) received a 3-week rehabilitation program and did not obtain any follow-up care. Patients from both groups were measured using questionnaires on physical activity, fatigue, and quality of life (QoL) at five time points, 4 months (t1), 8 months (t2), 12 months (t3), 18 months (t4), and 24 months (t5) after the beginning of the rehabilitation.
  
  
  
  After 2 years, the level of physical activity (total metabolic rate) increased significantly from 2733.16 ± 2547.95 (t0) to 4169.71 ± 3492.27 (t5) metabolic equivalent (MET)-min/week in the intervention group, but just slightly changed from 2858.38 ± 2393.79 (t0) to 2875.74 ± 2590.15 (t5) MET-min/week in the control group (means ± standard deviation). Furthermore, the internal group comparison showed significant differences after 2 years as well. These results came along with a significantly reduced fatigue syndrome and an increased health-related quality of life.
  
  
  
  The data indicate that an individual, according to their preferences, and physical-resource-adapted exercise program has a more sustainable impact on the physical activity level in breast cancer patients than the usual care. It is suggested that the rehabilitation program should be personalized for all breast cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department 1 of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Köln Bonn University Clinic of Cologne, Kerpenerstraße 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany. freerk.baumann@uk-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Freerk T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Sport Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sport Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bieck
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Sport Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sport Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oberste
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Center, "Klinik Am Kurpark", Bad Kissingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Rafaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Center, "Klinik Am Kurpark", Bad Kissingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Center, "Klinik Am Kurpark", Bad Kissingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wentrock
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Sport Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sport Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Cologne, Germany.|Institute for Health and Ageing, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zopf
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Sport Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sport Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Wilhelm
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Sport Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sport Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schüle
authors.affiliation: Facharztpraxis am Rehabilitations- und Präventionszentrum, Bad Bocklet, Germany.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reuss-Borst
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013577:Syndrome
keywords: Cancer; Exercise; Physical activity; Rehabilitation; Sustain