Velda Gonzalez

Abstract

Background: Home-based exercise interventions might be a desirable long-term option for breast cancer survivors to enhance compliance and long-term health benefits. Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of a home-based intervention aimed at helping survivors of breast cancer meet the physical activity guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine. Methods: Eighty-nine women (age: 55.4 ± 10 years; body mass index: 31 ± 6.5 kg/m2) from 2 cancer centers serving Hispanic women participated in this study. Women underwent a baseline assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle endurance and strength, flexibility, range of motion, and extremity disability. After baseline measures, women were randomized into a control or exercise group. The exercise intervention consisted of a walking program, elastic band strengthening, and flexibility exercises performed at home. The outcome measures were reassessed 16 weeks after baseline measures. Results: The intervention showed a strong effect of time on muscle strength and shoulder range of motion, and time and group for self-reported disability. There were no differences in sedentary behavior, physical fitness, and disability measures across intervention groups, including both exercise groups combined and changes over time between intervention groups. Conclusion: It appears that a home-based intervention affects only upper-body strength and related disability, indicating that other components might need closer monitoring for significant changes to occur across time.

Abstract

Background. The role of alterations in gut microbiota composition (termed dysbiosis) has been implicated in the pathobiology of depressive symptoms; however, evidence remains limited. This cross-sectional pilot study is aimed at exploring whether depressive symptom scores changed during neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy to treat rectal cancer, and if gut microbial taxa abundances and predicted functional pathways correlate with depressive symptoms at the end of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Methods. 40 newly diagnosed rectal cancer patients (ages 28-81; 23 males) were assessed for depressive symptoms using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and provided stool samples for 16S rRNA sequencing. Gut microbiome data were analyzed using QIIME2, and correlations and regression analyses were performed in R. Results. Participants had significantly higher depressive symptoms at the end as compared to before CRT. The relative abundances of Gemella, Bacillales Family XI, Actinomyces, Streptococcus, Lactococcus, Weissella, and Leuconostocaceae were positively correlated (Spearman’s rho=0.42 to 0.32), while Coprobacter, Intestinibacter, Intestimonas, Lachnospiraceae, Phascolarctobacterium, Ruminiclostridium, Ruminococcaceae (UCG-005 and uncultured), Tyzzerella, and Parasutterella (Spearman’s rho=−0.43 to−0.31) were negatively correlated with HAM-D scores. Of the 14 predicted MetaCyc pathways that correlated with depressive symptom scores at the end of CRT, 11 (79%) were associated with biosynthetic pathways. Conclusions. Significant bacterial taxa and predicted functional pathways correlated with depressive symptoms at the end of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for rectal cancer which warrants further examination and replication of our findings.