Chronic Effects of Resistance Training in Breast Cancer Survivors

Table 2

Distribution of studies according to sampling, intervention, parameters, and main outcomes found.

Study	Sample	Group	Intervention length (months)	Parameters	Outcomes
Ahmed et al. [52]	= 85; 52 ± 7.7 years	EG and CG	6 months	Lower and upper body strength (1 RM); Lymphedema	EG increased muscle strength.; Two subjects of CG and one of EG self-reported lymphedema; however there was no difference between groups ().; Three women of CG reported lymphedema symptoms, while EG did not.; Symptoms of lymphedema were not changed.
Brown et al. [40]	= 295; EG = 56 ± 9 years; CG = 57 ± 10 years	EG and CG	12 months	Body composition (DXA); Lower and upper body strength (1 RM)	EG had lower body fat than the CG after 12 months of intervention. However, no differences were found for other anthropometric parameters.; EG improved muscle strength.
Hagstrom et al. [53]	= 39; 51.9 ± 8.8 years	EG and CG	4 months	Fatigue and quality of life by FACIT and; FACT-G scales, respectively; Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire; Lower (1 RM) and upper body strength (isometric)	Perceptions of fatigue and quality of life improved in EG compared to CG.; EG improved muscle strength.; Significant correlation between improvements in strength of the treated limb and improvements in global life quality in EG (, ).
Hagstrom et al. [41]	= 39; 51.9 ± 8.8 years	EG and CG	4 months	Natural killer cell (NK) and natural killer T-cell; (NKT) function and markers of inflammation (serum TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and CRP); Body composition; Lower (1 RM) and upper body strength (isometric)	Lower NK and NKT cell expression of TNF-α in EG compared to CG.; No change in body composition or in any inflammatory marker.; EG improved muscle strength.; Inverse correlations between changes in lower body strength and TNF-α expression on NK (, ) and NKT cells (, ).; No adverse events, nor new cases of lymphedema.
Ohira et al. [54]	N = 86; EG: 53.3 ± 8.7 years; CG: 52.8 ± 7.6 years	EG and CG	12 months	Body composition (DXA); Upper and lower boy strength (1 RM); Quality of life (CARES short form); Depressive symptoms; (CES-D)	Physical global score increased 2.1% in TG and decreased 1.2% in CG.; Psychosocial global score improved in EG (2.5%) compared to CG (0.3%).; There were no changes in CES-D scores.; Correlation between increases in upper body strength and improvements in physical global score (; ) and psychosocial global score (; ). Increases in lean mass correlated with improvements in physical global score (; ) and psychosocial global score (; ).
Schmitz et al. [43]	N = 85; 52 ± 7.7 years	ITG and DTG	12 months	Body composition (DXA); Upper and lower body strength (1 RM); Plasma glucose and insulin, and hormones of IGF axis	ITG group increased lean mass and decreased body fat% compared to DTG from baseline to 6 months.; Increase in upper and lower body muscle strength with training intervention.; Reduction in IGF-II in both ITG and DTG groups. IGFBP-3 decreased in DTG group after 6 months of intervention.
Schmitz et al. [42]	N = 141; EG: 56 ± 9 years; CG: 58 ± 10 years	EG and CG	12 months	Body composition (DXA); Upper and lower body strength (1 RM); Lymphedema	There were no differences in body composition between groups.; EG had greater improvements in self-reported severity of lymphedema symptoms and muscle strength and a lower incidence of lymphedema exacerbations (14% versus 29%) in comparison to CG.
Schmitz et al. [55]	N = 134; EG 54 ± 8 years; CG 56 ± 8 years	EG and CG	12 months	Body composition (DXA); Upper and lower body strength (1 RM); Lymphedema	Body fat% was lower in EG at 12 months.; EG increased muscle strength.; No between-group differences were observed in clinician-defined lymphedema onset or symptoms in secondary analysis limited to women with 5 or more nodes removed.
Speck et al. [56]	N = 295; 56.5 years (36–80)	EG and CG	12 months	Body image and relationships scale (BIRS); Quality of life; Upper and lower body strength (1 RM)	Greater improvement in BIRS total score in EG compared CG.; EG improved self-perceptions of appearance, health, physical strength, sexuality, relationships, and social functioning.; EG improved muscle strength.
Waltman et al. [57]	58.69 ± 7.5 years	EG (also took medications) and CG (only took medications)	24 months	Bone mineral density and bone turnover (DXA); Hip and knee muscular strength (Biodex)	EG and CG improved body mineral density and bone turnover. EG had no additional improvements.; EG improved muscle strength.

EG, experimental group. CG, control group. 1 RM, one-repetition maximum. DXA, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. CARES, cancer rehabilitation evaluation system. CES-D, center for epidemiologic studies depression scale. BCS, breast cancer survivors. ITG, immediate treatment group trained from months 0 to 12. DTG, delayed treatment group serving as control from 0 to 6 months and trained from months 7 to 12. FACIT, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy. FACT-G, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General.