Effects of Structured Exercise of Different Intensities on Cancer-Related Fatigue and Quality of Life in Patients After Breast Cancer Surgery

doi:10.12104/j.issn.1674-4748.2025.20.020

Abstract：Objective: To investigate the effects of structured exercise of different intensities on postoperative fatigue and quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Methods: A total of 114 patients with breast cancer who underwent modified radical mastectomy at the Department of Breast Surgery, Tangshan People's Hospital, from July 2023 to February 2024 were selected as the study subjects and randomly assigned to three groups in a 1:1:1 ratio. The control group received routine nursing care, the intervention group 1 received routine nursing care plus low-intensity structured exercise, and the intervention group 2 received routine nursing care plus moderate-to-high intensity structured exercise. The Chinese version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI-C) and the Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) were collected before intervention, after intervention, and during a 3-month follow-up. Differences between groups were compared. Results: A total of 37 patients were included in the control group (1 dropped out), 36 in intervention group 1 (2 dropped out), and 37 in intervention group 2 (1 dropped out). After intervention and during the 3-month follow-up, the BFI-C fatigue symptoms, daily life dimension scores, and total scores of intervention group 1 and intervention group 2 were lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The BFI-C fatigue symptoms dimension score and total score of intervention group 2 were lower than those of intervention group 1 (P < 0.05). After intervention and during the 3-month follow-up, the FACT-B scores for physical, social-familial, emotional, functional, and additional concerns dimensions, as well as the total score, of intervention group 1 and intervention group 2 were higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05). During the 3-month follow-up, the scores for all dimensions and the total score of FACT-B in intervention group 2 were higher than those in intervention group 1 (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Structured exercise can significantly improve the fatigue status of patients after breast cancer surgery and enhance their quality of life. Moderate-to-high intensity exercise showed better effects than low-intensity exercise. This method is simple to operate, has low economic cost, is convenient for patients to practice at home, and has high compliance, laying the foundation for future development and innovation of rehabilitation intervention methods.