PURPOSE: Few randomized controlled trials in exercise oncology have examined survival outcomes. Here, we report an exploratory follow-up of progression-free survival (PFS) from the Healthy Exercise for Lymphoma Patients (HELP) trial. METHODS: The HELP Trial randomized 122 lymphoma patients between 2005 and 2008 to either control (n = 62) or 12 weeks of supervised aerobic exercise (n = 60). PFS events were abstracted from medical records in 2013. In addition to the randomized comparison, we explored the effects of exercise adherence (< 80% versus > 80%) and control group crossover (no versus yes). RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 61 months (interquartile range 36 to 67), the adjusted 5-year PFS was 64.8% for the exercise group compared with 65.0% for the control group (Hazard ratio (HR) 1.01, 95% CI 0.51 to 2.01, p = 0.98). In the secondary analysis, the adjusted 5-year PFS was 59.0% in the control group without crossover compared with 69.2% for the control group with crossover (HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.22 to 2.06, p = 0.49), 67.7% for the exercise group with < 80% adherence (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.85, p = 0.50), and 68.4% for the exercise group with > 80% adherence (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.32 to 1.56, p = 0.39). In a post hoc analysis combining the three groups that received supervised exercise, the adjusted 5-year PFS for the supervised exercise groups was 68.5% compared with 59.0% for the group that received no supervised exercise (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.35 to 1.39, p = 0.31). CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory follow-up of the HELP Trial suggests that supervised aerobic exercise may be associated with improved PFS in lymphoma patients. Larger trials designed to answer this question are needed.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PubMed
• PDF locator
• publisher