title: A comparison of the effects of medical Qigong and standard exercise therapy on symptoms and quality of life in patients with advanced cancer.
abstract: Patients with advanced cancer frequently experience anxiety, depression and poor quality of life (QOL), as well as physical symptoms such as fatigue and weakness. Physical exercise has potential to help control these symptoms but the optimal training prescription is still not clear. We performed a study comparing medical Qigong (QG) and standard endurance and strength training (SET) in patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung (NSCLC) and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.
  
  
  
  A randomized, cross-over study was performed in patients with advanced NSCLC and GI cancers receiving or eligible for chemotherapy. Patients received supervised QG or SET twice-weekly for 6 weeks. Psychological functioning, QOL, symptoms and physical functioning were assessed before and after each intervention period.
  
  
  
  Nineteen patients completed both interventions. Comparing interventions revealed no difference between QG and SET on change in anxiety or depression scores or QOL. However, SET treatment was better at improving perceived strength (P = 0.05) and walking distance (P = 0.02). The order in which interventions were performed had a significant impact on the improvement in certain symptoms (sleep quality, breathlessness, P < 0.05), QOL (P = 0.01) and walking distance (P = 0.008). In all cases, the beneficial effects of the exercise interventions were markedly reduced during the second interval.
  
  
  
  QG and SET are equivalent in their impact on many aspects of psychological function in cancer patients. However, SET leads to greater improvements in exercise capacity and helps reduce some symptoms. The reduction in beneficial effect of SET on exercise function when offered as the second intervention is a new finding that warrants further study.
authors.affiliation: McGill Cancer Nutrition Rehabilitation Program, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Room E-809, 3755 Ch de la Cote-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Vanderbyl
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: McGill Cancer Nutrition Rehabilitation Program, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Room E-809, 3755 Ch de la Cote-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.affiliation: McGill Cancer Nutrition Rehabilitation Program, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Room E-809, 3755 Ch de la Cote-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.|Peter Brojde Lung Cancer Centre, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: McGill Cancer Nutrition Rehabilitation Program, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Room E-809, 3755 Ch de la Cote-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Windholz
authors.affiliation: McGill Cancer Nutrition Rehabilitation Program, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Room E-809, 3755 Ch de la Cote-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Swanson
authors.affiliation: Peter Brojde Lung Cancer Centre, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kasymjanova
authors.affiliation: McGill Cancer Nutrition Rehabilitation Program, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Room E-809, 3755 Ch de la Cote-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada. thomas.jagoe@mcgill.ca.|Peter Brojde Lung Cancer Centre, Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada. thomas.jagoe@mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Jagoe
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D064906:Qigong / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Advanced cancer; Exercise; Functional capacity; Medical qigong; Quality of life; Rehabilitation