The impact of an exercise program on quality of life in older breast cancer survivors undergoing aromatase inhibitor therapy: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the impact of an exercise program on quality of life in older breast cancer survivors undergoing aromatase inhibitor therapy. METHODS: Older breast cancer survivors were randomized into two groups: combined training: resistance + aerobic exercise program for nine months (n = 18) or control group (n = 18). Quality of life was assessed by the questionnaires SF36, EORTC QLQ-C30, and EORTC QLQ-BR23 at baseline, and at three, six, and nine months. The exercise group performed 40 min of resistance exercises on machines followed by 30 min of aerobic training on a treadmill 3x/wk. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the groups over time. RESULTS: Significant time x group interactions and moderate to high effect sizes were found for physical functioning, physical health, bodily pain, general health perception, vitality, social functioning, fatigue, sleep disturbance, body image, and upset by hair loss, favoring the exercise group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the potential benefits and high clinical relevance of exercise programs to improve quality of life in older breast cancer survivors undergoing aromatase inhibitor therapy.

Monitoring the profile of cervical cancer in a developing city.

BACKGROUND: Medical records are frequently consulted to verify whether the treatment and guiding principles were correct. Determine incidence and mortality trends of in situ and invasive neoplasms of the uterine cervix, in the period 1988-2004 in Goiânia, Brazil. METHODS: The incident cases were identified through the Population-Based Cancer Registry of Goiânia. Population data were collected from census data of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. For mortality analysis, data were extracted from the Mortality Information System. The Poisson Regression was utilized to determine the annual incidence and mortality rates. RESULTS: A total of 4446 cases of in situ and invasive neoplasms of the uterine cervix were identified. No significant reductions were verified in invasive cervical cancer rates (p=0.386) during the study period, while in situ carcinomas presented an annual increasing trend of 13.08% (p<0.001). A decreasing trend was observed for mortality (3.02%, p=0.017). CONCLUSION: No reduction was observed for the incidence of invasive cancer of the uterine cervix; however, increasing trends were verified for in situ lesions with a consequent reduction in mortality rates. These increasing trends may be the result of recently-implemented screening programs or due to improvements in the notification system.