Effect of Exercise on Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Among Patients Treated for Ovarian Cancer: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), one of the most common and severe adverse effects of chemotherapy, is associated with worse quality of life among survivors of ovarian cancer. Currently, there is no effective treatment for CIPN. Objective: To evaluate the effect of a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention vs attention-control on CIPN among women treated for ovarian cancer in the Women's Activity and Lifestyle Study in Connecticut (WALC) to provide evidence to inform the guidelines and recommendations for prevention or treatment of CIPN. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prespecified secondary analysis evaluated the Women's Activity and Lifestyle Study in Connecticut (WALC), a multicentered, open-label, population-based, phase 3 randomized clinical trial of an aerobic exercise intervention vs attention control for CIPN in patients who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Only WALC participants who received chemotherapy were included in this analysis. Participants were randomized 1:1 to either a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention or to attention control. All analyses were conducted between September 2022 and January 2023. Interventions: The exercise intervention consisted of home-based moderate-intensity aerobic exercise facilitated by weekly telephone counseling from an American College of Sports Medicine/American Cancer Society-certified cancer exercise trainer. Attention control involved weekly health education telephone calls from a WALC staff member. Main Outcomes and Measure: Change in CIPN was the primary outcome in this secondary analysis. This outcome was represented by CIPN severity, which was self-measured by participants at baseline and 6 months using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group-Neurotoxicity scale, with a score range of 0 to 44. A mixed-effects model was used to assess the 6-month change in CIPN between the exercise intervention and attention control arms. Results: Of the 134 participants (all females; mean [SD] age, 57.5 [8.3] years) included in the analysis, 69 were in the exercise intervention arm and 65 were in the attention control arm. The mean (SD) time since diagnosis was 1.7 (1.0) years. The mean (SD) baseline CIPN scores were 8.1 (5.6) in the exercise intervention arm and 8.8 (7.9) in the attention control arm (P = .56). At 6 months, the self-reported CIPN score was reduced by 1.3 (95% CI, -2.3 to -0.2) points in the exercise intervention arm compared with an increase of 0.4 (95% CI, -0.8 to 1.5) points in the attention control arm. The between-group difference was -1.6 (95% CI, -3.1 to -0.2) points. The point estimate was larger among the 127 patients with CIPN symptoms at enrollment (-2.0; 95% CI, -3.6 to -0.5 points). Conclusions and Relevance: Findings of this secondary analysis of the WALC trial indicate that a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention vs attention control significantly improved self-reported CIPN among patients who were treated for ovarian cancer. While replication of the findings in other studies is warranted, incorporating referrals to exercise programs into standard oncology care could reduce CIPN symptoms and increase quality of life in patients with ovarian cancer. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02107066.

Effect of exercise on body composition among women with ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE: Obesity is associated with a higher risk of mortality in women with ovarian cancer. Exercise has improved body composition among cancer survivors, yet no randomized controlled trial has explored the effect of exercise on body composition in women with ovarian cancer. In this analysis, we examined the effect of a six-month aerobic exercise intervention on body composition among ovarian cancer survivors in the Women's Activity and Lifestyle Study in Connecticut (WALC). METHODS: Women with ovarian cancer (N = 144) were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to 6 months of an aerobic exercise intervention or attention-control, and body composition was measured as a secondary outcome at baseline and 6 months via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Women with at least one DEXA scan were included in the analysis (N = 103). RESULTS: On average, participants were 57.1 (± 8.7) years old and 1.6 (± 0.9) years since diagnosis. Women randomized to exercise maintained weight during the trial (- 0.11 kg, P = 0.82), while women in attention-control gained weight (+ 1.40 kg, P = 0.03); however, the between-group difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.09). We found no statistically significant differences by study arm for changes in body fat percentage, bone mineral density, or lean body mass. CONCLUSIONS: Weight was maintained as a result of a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention among post-treatment ovarian cancer survivors. Future exercise and healthy eating interventions should consider additional measures (e.g., computer tomography scans, D3-creatinine) to more accurately assess changes in body composition. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise may help ovarian cancer survivors maintain weight.

Exercise adherence in a randomized controlled trial of exercise on quality of life in ovarian cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: Factors associated with improving exercise in ovarian cancer survivors remain unknown. We explored characteristics associated with exercise adherence among women treated for ovarian cancer in the Women's Activity and Lifestyle Study in Connecticut (WALC) randomized controlled trial. METHODS: We evaluated adherence among women randomized to the WALC exercise intervention (N = 74). Women had to be exercising ≤ 90 min/week and post-treatment. The intervention included 25 telephone-based exercise counseling sessions over 6 months. Adherence was defined as 150 min/week of moderate/vigorous-intensity exercise. We evaluated factors associated with exercise adherence and duration using multivariate logistic and linear regression. The number of sessions sufficient to achieve 150 min/week was modeled with an unadjusted receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Women were 57.3 ± 8.8 years old and 1.7 ± 1.0 years since diagnosis. The mean exercise time over 6 months was 166.0 ± 66.1 min/week, and 64.9% of women met the 150 min/week goal. Women attended 22.8 ± 3.6 (92%) counseling sessions. No cancer recurrence during the study (OR = 9.15, 95% CI: 1.09-44.02) and greater session attendance (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02-1.43) were related to meeting the exercise goal. Greater session attendance (P < 0.01) and higher baseline activity level (P = 0.02) were associated with greater average weekly exercise duration. The ROC curve suggested attending 18 counseling sessions was optimal to meet the exercise goal. CONCLUSIONS: Women attending more counseling sessions or with no cancer recurrence during the study were more likely to meet the exercise goal. More research is needed to understand ideal counseling intensity for ovarian cancer survivors. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Eighteen counseling sessions are sufficient for ovarian cancer survivors to achieve 150 min/week exercise.