Arterial Stiffness in Individuals With Breast Cancer

Hacettepe University

Status

Enrolling

Conditions

Breast Cancer

Aerobic Exercise

Arterial Stiffness

Treatments

Other: Upper Extremity Aerobic Exercise Training Program

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT07070778

2025/5-39

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this study was to evaluate vascular toxicity induced by anthracyclines and other anticancer drugs and to measure arterial stiffness in women with breast cancer and, in addition, to evaluate the acute and chronic arterial stiffness responses of upper extremity aerobic exercise training.

Full description

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women both in the world and in our country. Today, with the technological developments, breast cancer treatments have improved considerably and the mortality rate has decreased. However, despite the developments in treatments, the quality of life of patients has still not reached the desired level. Upper extremity dysfunctions are frequently observed in patients after breast cancer treatment. This upper extremity dysfunction causes a decrease in the quality of daily life of patients. Arterial stiffness contributes to hypertension and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that healthy adults perform moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic exercise at least 5 times per week and resistance exercise 2-3 times per week. Aerobic exercise can reduce arterial stiffness after both acute and chronic interventions. A small number of studies on aerobic exercise have reported that this exercise training improves the functional level of patients after breast cancer. However, the effect of aerobic exercise training on arm exercise capacity and arterial stiffness in patients with breast cancer is still unclear. Thus, the results of this study may guide physiotherapists working in this field about upper extremity exercise training after breast cancer.

Enrollment

18 estimated patients

Sex

Female

Ages

40 to 69 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

To be between the ages of 40-69,
Baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >50%,
Absence of coronary artery disease and haemodynamically significant valvular heart disease,
Absence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques,
Volunteering to participate in the research,
At least 15 months after breast cancer surgery,
No problems in reading and/or understanding the scales and being able to co-operate with the tests.
Physically inactive (60 minutes of structured exercise per week <).

Exclusion criteria

Presence of active infection,
Presence of bilateral breast cancer,
History of surgical, neurological or orthopaedic problems that may affect upper extremity functionality other than breast cancer surgery,
Having a neurological disease or other clinical diagnosis that may affect cognitive status,
Left ventricular dysfunction and severe liver and kidney dysfunction before starting chemotherapy
Musculoskeletal and neurological disease that may affect exercise performance, symptomatic heart disease, previous lung surgery and malignant disease.
Presence of unstable hypertension or diabetes mellitus.