Impact of the Promoting Physical Activity in Regional and Remote Cancer Survivors intervention on health-related quality of life in breast and colorectal cancer survivors

TL;DR

A study tested a physical activity program for cancer survivors in rural areas and found it improved quality of life and reduced pain.

Contribution

The study evaluates a distance-based physical activity intervention's impact on health-related quality of life in regional and remote cancer survivors.

Findings

The intervention group showed an 8.3-point increase in global HRQoL between baseline and 12 weeks.

Pain scores were significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control group.

Participants had high HRQoL at baseline, limiting potential for improvement.

Abstract

The PPARCS trial examined the efficacy of a distance-based wearable and health coaching intervention to increase physical activity (PA) in breast and colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors living in non-metropolitan areas. This paper examines the effects of the intervention on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at 12 weeks (T2; end of intervention) and 24 weeks (T3; follow-up).

Participants that were insufficiently physically active and had successfully completed cancer treatment were randomised to an intervention or control group. PA was assessed using an ActiGraph (GT9X) at baseline, T2, and T3. Intervention effects on HRQoL were analysed using quantile regression comparing treatment groups across time.

A total of 87 were randomised to intervention and control groups. There were generally no statistically significant differences between the groups on any HRQoL item except for pain. There was an arm (F(1, 219) = 5.0. p = 0.027) and time (F(2,221) = 4.8, p = 0.009) effect, reflecting the higher pain scores in the control group when collapsed across time points (median difference 16.7, CI 1.9 to 31.4, p = 0.027). For global HRQoL, the intervention group increased by 8.3 points between T1 and T2. The overall group median when collapsed across time was 16.7 points CI 8.2 to 25.2, p <0.001) greater in the intervention group than controls.

While the PPARCS intervention resulted in significant increases in PA, participants indicated a high HRQoL at baseline, leaving little room for improvement. Findings suggest that PA may improve global HRQoL and pain in breast and CRC survivors.

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