Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Adult Survivors of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Abstract

The effort to promote physical activity among cancer survivors, who are at risk for poor quality of life as a result of treatment, is of great importance to the health of this growing population. As NHL, similar to other cancers, becomes a disease that people live with as opposed to one that people die as a result of, oncologists and primary care physicians will be increasingly challenged to provide evidence-based guidance for the long-term management of the patient's health. Consideration should be given to how clinicians frame exercise-promoting messages to cancer survivors, especially to those who are sedentary.

A high level of fatigue among long-term survivors of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: results from the longitudinal population-based PROFILES registry in the south of the Netherlands

“…One prospective and three cross-sectional studies also observed clinically worse scores for HRQOL domains for NHL survivors compared with those of a normative population. 13,15,17,20 Numerous patients in our study showed large improvements (19-23%) or deteriorations (22-28%) within 1 year, which both indicate a clinically relevant change. 31 However, it is too soon to determine whether this can be defined as an actual change, due to regression to the mean.…”

“…[8][9][10][11][12] In the last decades, more attention is being paid to HRQOL after cancer diagnosis. Some studies have investigated HRQOL and fatigue in NHL survivors, [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] but almost all used a cross-sectional approach (only one measurement at a defined time). 13,[17][18][19][20][21] However, the longitudinal course of fatigue and HRQOL in patients with NHL and their return to normal life remains largely unknown.…”

“…Some studies have investigated HRQOL and fatigue in NHL survivors, [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] but almost all used a cross-sectional approach (only one measurement at a defined time). 13,[17][18][19][20][21] However, the longitudinal course of fatigue and HRQOL in patients with NHL and their return to normal life remains largely unknown. The aims of the present study were, therefore, to: (i) assess fatigue and HRQOL twice following primary treatment, (ii) compare fatigue and HRQOL with an age-and sex matched normative population to assess the severity of the concerns, and (iii) identify associations with fatigue in survivors who remained fatigued.…”

Exercise in adult and pediatric hematological cancer survivors: an intervention review

“…This therapy, which was used in the last two decades for high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (typically at 18 Gy dose), is strongly associated with physical inactivity during adulthood. 9 Boys and girls (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19) years) who are long-term ALL survivors (41.5 years posttreatment) have significantly reduced cardiorespiratory fitness, and this reduction is correlated with cumulative chemotherapy dose. 7 Likewise, higher chemotherapy dose is associated with lower cardiac function.…”

“…The physical activity levels of adult hematological cancer survivors are indeed rather low and usually below the recommended levels. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Low physical activity levels impact a diverse set of outcomes, including fatigue 17 (though some controversy exists 20,21 ), sleep, 20 quality of life (QOL) 16,22 and risk of cardiovascular disease and hypothyroidism. 17 In ALL survivors, low physical activity levels begin during the first two decades of life.…”