Author: Naomi Takemura1, Denise Shuk Ting Cheung1, Daniel Yee Tak Fong1, David Hui2, Anne Wing Mui Lee3, Tai-Chung Lam3, James Chung-Man Ho4, Tsz Yeung Kam5, Jeannie Yin Kwan Chik6, Chia-Chin Lin7
Affiliation:
1 School of Nursing (N.T., D.S.T.C., D.Y.T.F., C.C.L.), Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
2 Department of Palliative Care, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine (D.H.), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
3 Department of Clinical Oncology (W.M.L., T.C.L.), The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Guangdong, China; Department of Clinical Oncology (W.M.L., T.C.L.), Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
4 Department of Medicine (J.C.M.H.), Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
5 Department of Clinical Oncology (T.Y.K.), Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong.
6 Department of Clinical Oncology (J.Y.K.C.), Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
7 School of Nursing (N.T., D.S.T.C., D.Y.T.F., C.C.L.), Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong; Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Charity Foundation Professor in Nursing (C.C.L.), Hong Kong. Electronic address: chia.chin.lin@hku.hk.
Conference/Journal: J Pain Symptom Manage
Date published: 2024 May 9
Other:
Pages: S0885-3924(24)00745-0 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.04.025. , Word Count: 250
Context:
Dyspnea, a prevalent and debilitating symptom in patients with advanced lung cancer, negatively affects symptom burden and prognosis. Physical activity has emerged as a promising non-pharmacological intervention for managing dyspnea.
Objectives:
This study compared the effectiveness of two widely-recognized physical activity modalities, namely Tai Chi (TC) and aerobic exercise (AE) for treating dyspnea in patients with advanced lung cancer.
Methods:
Patients with advanced lung cancer (n=226) were randomized into TC, AE, or control groups. There was no baseline dyspnea requirement for patients. The AE group received two 60-minute supervised sessions and home-based exercises per month, the TC group received 60-minute sessions twice weekly, and the control group received exercise guidelines for 16 weeks. The primary outcome (sleep quality) of the study has been previously reported. In this secondary analysis, we focused on dyspnea outcomes, including overall and lung cancer-specific dyspnea. Assessments were conducted at baseline (T0), 16 weeks (T1), and one year (T2).
Results:
Compared to the control group, TC significantly improved overall dyspnea at T1 (between-group difference, -8.69; P=0.03) and T2 (between-group difference, -11.45; P=0.01), but not AE. Both AE (between-group difference, -11.04; P=0.01) and TC (between-group difference, -14.19; P<0.001) significantly alleviated lung cancer-specific dyspnea at T2 compared with the control group.
Conclusion:
Both TC and AE alleviate dyspnea severity in patients with advanced lung cancer, and continuous exercise can yield substantial improvements. Due to its multi-component nature, Tai Chi has a greater effect on dyspnea.
Keywords: Advanced lung cancer; Aerobic exercise; Dyspnea; Tai Chi.
PMID: 38729532 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2024.04.025
