Energy System Assessment in Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Metastasis breast cancer commonly report physical and psychosocial side effects, which requires a supervised exercise prescription with an individualized assessment. This cross-sectional study examined the feasibility of energy system-based assessment, also generating descriptive values for assessment performance in this population.Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 70 women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. After baseline assessment, participants attempted up to three energy system assessments: submaximal aerobic (multi-stage treadmill); anaerobic alactic (30-second sit-to-stand [30-STS]); and anaerobic lactic (adapted burpees). Heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. Secondary outcomes included body composition, CRF and upper- and lower-limb functionality. Results: 64 and 70 of the participants performed the submaximal aerobic test and the 30-STS, respectively, and 5 completed the adapted burpees task. Heart rate and RPE specific to each task were correlated, reflecting increased intensity. Women reported low-moderate levels of CRF [3(2.1)] and moderate-high functionality levels [upper-limb: 65.8% (23.3); lower-limb: 63.7% (34.7)]. Conclusions: Using a combination of heart rate and RPE, as well as baseline assessment of each energy system, clinicians may improve ability to prescribe personalized exercise and give patients greater ability to self-monitor intensity and progress.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03879096

Unraveling the “golden ratio”: a pilot study investigating acute-to-chronic workload ratio in breast cancer patients undergoing active treatment

“…Similarly, the 30STS has been found to correlate closely with 6MWT and serves as a helpful tool for estimating cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) in breast cancer patients (Díaz-Balboa et al, 2022). It also effectively stratifies survivors based on cancer-related fatigue (Cuesta-Vargas et al, 2019). In the POWER program, which involved cancer patients undergoing active treatment, there was an improvement of nearly two repetitions in the 30STS after the exercise intervention (Coletta et al, 2021).…”