wA clinical trial shows that women with breast cancer who began an exercise program at the start of chemotherapy reported improved cognitive function.
Many women undergoing chemotherapy often experience difficulties with memory, concentration, and clear thinking—commonly known as “chemo-brain” or “brain fog”—which can persist both in the short and long term. A recent clinical trial involving women starting chemotherapy for breast cancer found that those who began an aerobic exercise program at the same time reported greater improvements in cognitive function and quality of life compared to those receiving standard care.
The findings are published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
The study, called the Aerobic exercise and CogniTIVe functioning in women with breAsT cancEr (ACTIVATE) trial, included 57 Canadian women in Ottawa and Vancouver who were diagnosed with stage I–III breast cancer and beginning chemotherapy.
All women participated in 12–24 weeks of aerobic exercise: 28 started this exercise when initiating chemotherapy and 29 started after chemotherapy completion. Cognitive function assessments were conducted before chemotherapy initiation and after chemotherapy completion (therefore, before the latter group started the exercise program).
Study Results and Cognitive Function
Women who participated in the aerobic exercise program during chemotherapy self-reported better cognitive functioning and felt their mental abilities improved compared with those who received standard care without exercise. Neuropsychological testing—a performance-based method used to measure a range of mental functions—revealed similar cognitive performance in the two groups after chemotherapy completion, however.
“Our findings strengthen the case for making exercise assessment, recommendation, and referral a routine part of cancer care; this may help empower women living with and beyond cancer to actively manage both their physical and mental health during and after treatment,” said lead author Jennifer Brunet, PhD, of the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Brunet noted that many women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer remain insufficiently active, and there are limited exercise programs tailored to their needs. “To address this, we advocate for collaboration across various sectors—academic, healthcare, fitness, and community—to develop exercise programs specifically designed for women with breast cancer,” she said. “These programs should be easy to adopt and implement widely, helping to make the benefits of exercise more accessible to all women facing the challenges of cancer treatment and recovery.”
Reference: “Aerobic exercise and CogniTIVe functioning in women with breAsT cancEr (ACTIVATE): A randomized controlled trial” by Jennifer Brunet, Sitara Sharma, Kendra Zadravec, Monica Taljaard, Nathalie LeVasseur, Amirrtha Srikanthan, Kelcey A. Bland, Elham Sabri, Barbara Collins, Sherri Hayden, Christine Simmons, Andra M. Smith and Kristin L. Campbell, 21 October 2024, Cancer.
DOI: 10.1002/cncr.35540