Diet, physical activity, and health-related outcomes of endometrial cancer survivors in a behavioral lifestyle program: the Diet and Exercise in Uterine Cancer Survivors (DEUS) parallel randomized controlled pilot trial

Journal article

Objectives To explore the effectiveness of a theory-based behavioral lifestyle intervention on health behaviors and quality of life in endometrial cancer survivors.’

Methods This was a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled pilot trial conducted in two UK hospitals enrolling disease-free stage I-IVA endometrial cancer survivors. Participants were allocated to an 8-week group-based healthy eating and physical activity intervention or usual care using 1:1 minimization. Participants were followed up at 8 and 24 weeks, with the 8-week assessment being blinded. Diet, physical activity, and quality of life were measured with the Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010, Stanford 7-Day Physical Activity Recall, and the EORTC Quality of life Questionnaire Core 30, respectively. We analyzed all eligible participants using the intention-to-treat approach in complete cases, adjusting for baseline values, body mass index, and age.

Results We enrolled 60 of the 296 potentially eligible endometrial cancer survivors (May - December 2015). Fifty-four eligible participants were randomized to the intervention (n=29) or usual care (n=31), and 49 had complete follow-up data (n=24 in the intervention and n= 25 in usual care). Intervention adherence was 77%. At 8 weeks, participants in the intervention improved their diet compared to usual care (difference in Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010 score 7.5 (95% CI: 0.1 to 14.9), P=0.046) but not their physical activity (0.1 metabolic equivalent-h/day 95% CI: (-1.6 to 1.8), P=0.879), or global quality of life score (5.0 (95% CI: -3.4 to 13.3), P=0.236). Global quality of life improved in intervention participants at 24 weeks (difference 8.9 (95% CI: 0.9 to 16.8), P=0.029). No intervention-related adverse events were reported.

Conclusions The potential effectiveness of the intervention appeared promising. A future fully-powered study is needed to confirm these findings.

Authors: Koutoukidis, D; Beeken, R; Manchanda, R; Burnell, M; Ziaudeen, N

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Journal: International Journal of Gynecological Cancer
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 3
• Publication date: 2019-02-04
• Acceptance date: 2018-08-31
• DOI: 10.1136/ijgc-2018-000039
• EISSN: 1525-1438
• ISSN: 1048-891X
• Keywords: healthy eating; quality of life; endometrial cancer; physical activity