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CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN UPPER AND LOWER BODY MUSCULAR ENDURANCE IN CANCER SURVIVORS FOLLOWING A 12-WEEK PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTION

Abstract

Interventions which include leisure time physical activity (i.e., Aerobic and muscular strength exercise), can improve multiple cancer-related outcomes including physical health. However, the magnitude of effect of these interventions can be highly variable, and it is unclear to what extent survivors are achieving clinically relevant improvements in physical fitness. PURPOSE: This study examined changes in aerobic fitness (2 minutes step test; 2-MST), upper body muscular endurance (bicep curl test, right and left (R/LBC)), lower body muscular endurance (sit-to-stand test (STS)), and balance (30-second eyes open (BCO) or eyes closed (BCC) at the group and individual level among cancer survivors following a 12-week videoconference physical activity intervention. METHODS: Group level changes from baseline to post-intervention were compared using paired t-tests. P<0.05) At the individual level, the proportion of participant achieving Minimal Clinically Important Differences (MCID) was calculated for STS (+2.0 repetitions) and R/LBC (+2.3 repetitions). RESULTS: Participants (N=39; 58.4±10.4 yrs.; BMI 27.4±5.2 kg/m2)., were predominantly non-Hispanic (84.6%) white (82%), female (74.4%) in cancer remission for ≤ 2.5 years At the group level, aerobic fitness (2-MST +12 steps; P<0.01), lower body muscular endurance (STS +4 reps; P<0.01), upper body muscular endurance both sides (R & LBC +4 reps; P<0.01), and balance eyes closed dominant leg (+3 seconds; P<0.05) improved from pre- to post-intervention. muscular endurance. For STS, 71.79% achieved or exceeded the MCID and for R/LBC 69.23% achieved or exceeded the MCID. CONCLUSION: Group level, statistically significant improvements were observed following a 12-week videoconference physical activity intervention and the majority of participants achieved MCID’s in lower and upper body muscular endurance. More research is needed to establish MCID thresholds for multiple field-based practical assessments of physical fitness, e.g., 6-minute walk test and the 2-MST, and skill-related fitness to determine whether the other changes seen in these cancer survivors equate to additional clinically important improvements. By incorporating MCID thresholds into research studies, researchers see that the outcomes of an intervention align with experiences and perceptions of improvements in participants, rather than focusing strictly on numerical data. Financial Support: This study was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (R33CA256656)

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