Abstract:

Little is known about the long-term effects of cancer and cancer treatments on the physical function of older cancer survivors. Self-reported ability to perform activities of daily living may not identify subtle functional deficits. The purpose of this cross-sectional pilot study was to compare physical functional performance between older cancer survivors and adults with no cancer history. Participants (aged 71±5 y; M±SD) enrolled in one of two exercise training studies: a 4-month intervention for solid tumor survivors (n=17; 7 women), or a 6-month intervention for healthy adults (controls; n=10; 4 women). Cardiovascular and/or orthopedic contraindications to exercise were exclusionary. The primary outcome was the baseline (pre-training) overall score on the 10-item Continuous Scale Physical Functional Performance test (CS-PFP; range 0-100), an objective measure of physical function. Cancer survivors reported minor fatigue disruption of daily life (7.9±9.2; Fatigue Symptom Inventory Disruption Index, range 0-80). Time since cancer diagnosis was 6.9±3.8 y. Body composition (DXA) was not significantly different between groups (P>0.26). Overall CS-PFP score was significantly lower in survivors compared with controls (47.0±14.5 vs. 67.5±11.0; P<0.001). Self-reported physical function (SF36) tended to be lower in survivors (65.9±17.2 vs. 77.5±26.2, controls; P=0.17). We found that cancer survivors who experienced only minor fatigue and were motivated to start exercising had 20% lower physical function than peers without a cancer history. Functional deficits in older cancer survivors may be missed by self-report alone. To enhance long term physical function, older cancer survivors may be an important group to target for exercise interventions.

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