Supportive Care in Cancer · Apr 10, 2025

Resistance exercise dose effects on muscle morphology, muscle function and quality of life in advanced-stage ovarian cancer survivors

By Schofield C, Mol M, Taaffe DR et al.

AIM: Advanced-stage ovarian cancer survivors often have compromised muscle morphology (muscle mass and density), muscle function (muscle strength and physical function), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We recently reported improvements in these outcomes following resistance training. Information on the resistance exercise dose required to improve health-related outcomes is still lacking in this cancer group. Here we examined the exercise dose delivered and the effect of the delivered dose on changes in outcomes of interest. METHODS: Twelve women with stage III or IV ovarian cancer completed a 12-week supervised resistance exercise intervention. Exercise metrics included compliance (exercise dose completed), dose modifications (sessions modified) and tolerance (rating of perceived exertion; RPE). Participants were allocated to lower (< 63%) or higher (> 63%) exercise compliance based on median split. Differences in change to muscle morphology, muscle function and HRQoL between compliance groups were investigated. RESULTS: Median compliance and session RPE were 63.0% and 13 (somewhat hard), respectively. Dose reductions occurred in 92.7% of sessions. Both groups experienced improvements in muscle morphology and function. Higher compliance was associated with greater improvements in whole body lean mass (+ 1.3 kg vs. + 0.5 kg) and lower body strength (+ 50 kg vs. + 13 kg). Only the lower compliance group experienced a clinically significant improvement in 400-m walk time (-48.4 s vs. -9.4 s). Both groups experienced clinically meaningful improvements in social and cognitive functioning. CONCLUSION: Relatively lower doses of resistance exercise may benefit advanced-stage ovarian cancer survivors. Exercise programs may need to be flexible and individualized to fit the needs of this cancer group.

doi.org/10.1007/s00520-025-09401-0 Open access PubMed 40208352 Interventions