Physical activity tied to cancer prognosis.(NEWS)(Clinical report)

SAN ANTONIO -- Breast cancer survivors with poor physical health, particularly those with limited physical activity, have a worse prognosis than those with adequate physical health, based on the results of a study of almost 3,000 survivors followed for 6 years.

'Approximately 40% of breast cancer survivors are at higher risk because of their poor physical health status," Abu N. Saquib, Ph.D., wrote in a poster presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Dr. Saquib and his coinvestigators at the University of California, San Diego, assessed the effect of physical health and physical activity on additional breast cancer events and deaths among 2,967 early-stage breast cancer survivors, who were enrolled in the Women's Healthy Eating and Living study during 1995-2000.

Physical health was assessed using the Physical Health summary score, which is a component of the SF-36 quality of life measurement tool. This score includes measures of physical functioning (climb a flight of stairs, walk a mile), the role of physical ability in daily activities (accomplished less, had difficulty), bodily pain (magnitude, interference with activity), and general health (get sick easier, expected health level). Cumulative physical health (0-100) was obtained from the SF-36 for baseline through year 6. Physical health was stratified as adequate (SF-36 scores of 76.4-100) or low (0-76.3).

Cumulative physical activity (metabolic equivalents multiplied by minutes/week) was obtained from the Personal Habits Questionnaire for baseline through year 6. Metabolic equivalent (MET) is the ratio of a person's working metabolic rate relative to the resting metabolic rate; the measure is commonly used in the context of aerobic exercise to gauge the intensity of a workout. The number of calories burned during exercise is equal to the MET (intensity) multiplied by the time spent exercising.

The ...