Exercise training during chemotherapy preserves skeletal muscle fiber area, capillarization, and mitochondrial content in patients with breast cancer.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
usual care (UC) | decrease | citrate synthase activity | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | were reduced | #1 |
usual care (UC) | decrease | muscle fiber cross-sectional area | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | were reduced | #2 |
usual care (UC) | decrease | capillaries per fiber | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | were reduced | #3 |
usual care (UC) | decrease | myosin heavy chain isoform type I | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | were reduced | #4 |
resistance training combined with high-intensity interval training (RT-HIIT) | no change | citrate synthase activity, muscle fiber cross-sectional area, capillaries per fiber, and myosin heavy chain isoform type I | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | were able to counteract these declines | #5 |
moderate-intensity aerobic training combined with high-intensity interval training (AT-HIIT) | no change | citrate synthase activity, muscle fiber cross-sectional area, capillaries per fiber, and myosin heavy chain isoform type I | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | were able to counteract these declines | #6 |
moderate-intensity aerobic training combined with high-intensity interval training (AT-HIIT) | increase | electron transport chain protein levels | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | promoted up-regulation | #7 |
resistance training combined with high-intensity interval training (RT-HIIT) | increase | satellite cell count | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | favored | #8 |
- | neutral | change in citrate synthase activity and self-reported fatigue | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | significant association | #9 |
moderate-intensity aerobic training combined with high-intensity interval training (AT-HIIT) | increase | markers of skeletal muscle function | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | maintained or improved | #10 |
resistance training combined with high-intensity interval training (RT-HIIT) | increase | markers of skeletal muscle function | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | maintained or improved | #11 |
usual care (UC) | decrease | markers of skeletal muscle function | patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer | - | declines found | #12 |
Exercise has been suggested to ameliorate the detrimental effects of chemotherapy on skeletal muscle. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different exercise regimens with usual care on skeletal muscle morphology and mitochondrial markers in patients being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer. Specifically, we compared moderate-intensity aerobic training combined with high-intensity interval training (AT-HIIT) and resistance training combined with high-intensity interval training (RT-HIIT) with usual care (UC). Resting skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained pre- and postintervention from 23 randomly selected women from the OptiTrain breast cancer trial who underwent RT-HIIT, AT-HIIT, or UC for 16 wk. Over the intervention, citrate synthase activity, muscle fiber cross-sectional area, capillaries per fiber, and myosin heavy chain isoform type I were reduced in UC, whereas RT-HIIT and AT-HIIT were able to counteract these declines. AT-HIIT promoted up-regulation of the electron transport chain protein levels vs. UC. RT-HIIT favored satellite cell count vs. UC and AT-HIIT. There was a significant association between change in citrate synthase activity and self-reported fatigue. AT-HIIT and RT-HIIT maintained or improved markers of skeletal muscle function compared with the declines found in the UC group, indicating a sustained trainability in addition to the preservation of skeletal muscle structural and metabolic characteristics during chemotherapy. These findings highlight the importance of supervised exercise programs for patients with breast cancer during chemotherapy.-Mijwel, S., Cardinale, D. A., Norrbom, J., Chapman, M., Ivarsson, N., Wengström, Y., Sundberg, C. J., Rundqvist, H. Exercise training during chemotherapy preserves skeletal muscle fiber area, capillarization, and mitochondrial content in patients with breast cancer.