Can a Multimodal Mind–Body Program Enhance the Treatment Effects of Physical Activity in Breast Cancer Survivors With Chronic Tumor-Associated Fatigue? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background. Chronic fatigue is one of the most restricting symptoms following primary breast cancer treatment, but clinical studies on symptom management are rare. The objective was to evaluate the impact of a multimodal mind–body program (MMMT), including moderate physical activity as compared with a walking intervention alone, on chronic fatigue symptoms of women with stage I to IIIA breast cancer. Patients and Methods. Sixty-four women (mean age = 56.7 years) suffering from chronic fatigue after active tumor treatment were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control (n = 32 each) intervention (10 weeks). Fatigue, quality of life (QoL), functional well-being, anxiety, and depression were measured with standard questionnaires at baseline, after 10 weeks, and after 3 months. Results. Compared with baseline, both groups had reduced fatigue scores after treatment without any significant difference between groups (posttreatment, Δ = −0.3, confidence interval = −1.6 to 1.0, P = .678; follow-up, Δ = −0.4, confidence interval = −1.8 to 0.9, P = .510). All patients also improved regarding QoL and general functional well-being. Conclusion. Since both interventions reduced fatigue symptoms and enhanced QoL to a similar extent, we observed no verifiable add-on effect of the MMMT regarding fatigue symptoms. Considering the higher costs with additional expenditure related to MMMT, home-based walking intervention is recommended.