INTRODUCTION: Exercise has been proposed as a medicine for the control and treatment of cancer and its complications. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of 12 weeks of high-intensity interval training and moderate continuous aerobic training on quality of life in women with breast cancer undergoing hormone therapy. METHODS: 39 patients with breast cancer undergoing hormone therapy were randomly assigned to 3 groups: (1) high-intensity interval training (HIIT; n = 13), (2) moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT; n = 14), and (3) control group (n = 12). The intervention groups performed their exercises for 12 weeks, 3 sessions per week. Quality of life was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using an ANCOVA test. RESULTS: The physical well-being domain scores significantly improved in the MICT group compared with the control group (p = 0.010). The emotional dimension scores in both groups of HIIT (p = 0.010) and MCIT (p = 0.016) significantly improved compared with the control group. In the functional dimension, a significant difference was observed between the HIIT group and the control group (p = 0.050). Total quality of life scores for both the HIIT group (p = 0.001) and the MICT group (p = 0.005) were significantly increased compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that both interval and continuous exercise programs can improve quality of life in breast cancer patients, although a larger sample is needed to confirm the clinical significance of these initial findings.

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