Elderly Cancer Survivors Improve Ability at Daily
Functions with Home-Based Intervention
Younger patients usually bounce back, but senior
citizens may need a structured program to stop functional decline and
retain independence
Nov. 18, 2008 Home-based diet and exercise
interventions can improve the physical function of senior citizens who
are long-term cancer survivors. Seniors are known to have more
difficulty than younger people in recovering normal functions, like
climbing stairs, carrying groceries or taking a shower, that younger
people but those in this group made significant recovery.
The study, presented today at the American
Association for Cancer Researchs Seventh Annual International
Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, focused on
survivors older than age 65.
Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph.D., professor of
behavioral science at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center, said this age group often suffers long-term side effects of
cancer and its treatment which could threaten the ability to live
independently.
Younger cancer patients are usually able to bounce
back, but older patients may need a structured program to stop
functional decline and retain independence, said Demark-Wahnefried.
Demark-Wahnefried and colleagues identified 20,015
cancer survivors from cancer registries and self-referral sources. Of
these cases, 1,208 were screened and 641 participants were enrolled in
the trial.
To be included, patients had to be older than 65
years, have survived their cancer for at least five years with no
evidence of recurrence, have no medical conditions that would preclude
unsupervised exercise, and be overweight or obese.
Participants were randomly assigned to an
intervention or a wait-list control group. Those in the intervention
group received tailored mailed print materials on diet and exercise, a
pedometer and exercise bands. For the first three weeks, participants
received weekly phone calls, which tapered off to every two weeks and
then once a month until the end of the study.
At the end of one year, researchers evaluated
physical function, diet quality and physical activity using standard
measures.
Participants in the intervention group demonstrated
significant improvements in their diet and exercise behaviors, and their
weight status.
Whats more, according to the SF-36 physical
function test, participants in the intervention group had a 2.5 point
decline compared with a 5.3 point decline in the control group. Similar
differences were seen in measures of basic lower extremity and advanced
lower extremity functioning. Overall, the magnitude of effect was
similar to preventing physical function losses comparable to that
imposed by ischemic heart disease.
The ability to perform moderate to vigorous
physical activity improved as well. In the intervention group,
participants increased their ability by 44.9 minutes a week compared
with 29.7 minutes per week in the control group.
Body mass index declined by 0.8 in the active group
compared with 0.3 in the control group.
Demark-Wahnefried said these findings are important
because the number of cancer survivors is skyrocketing, and were just
beginning to see the long-term health effects of the disease and its
treatment. Given current economic concerns, such research is
particularly relevant.
Last year alone, we spent $219 billion on cancer
care, but only 40 percent of that was spent on treatment, said Demark-Wahnefried.
The majority of costs were due to lost productivity and health problems
that surfaced afterwards.
The current study did not directly assess
cost-effectiveness, but Demark-Wahnefried said she expects to see cost
savings when they conduct further studies.
American Association for Cancer Research
The mission of the American Association for Cancer
Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the
worlds oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to
advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000
basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care
professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States
and 80 other countries.
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boomers
Nov. 18, 2008 Home-based diet and exercise
interventions can improve the physical function of senior citizens who
are long-term cancer survivors. Seniors are known to have more
difficulty than younger people in recovering normal functions, like
climbing stairs, carrying groceries or taking a shower, that younger
people but those in this group made significant recovery.