Effects of Exergaming on Quality of Life in Cancer Patients

Objective: The benefits of conventional physical activity are still unclear for improving the quality of life of cancer patients. This study aimed to analyze the effect of exergaming therapy on quality of life as well as the functional well-being (FWB) and physical well-being (PWB) of cancer patients. Materials and Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental, controlled study using exergaming through an Xbox 360 Kinect (TM) console, thrice per week, for a total of 20 sessions. Three groups were created: cancer patients in chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy group (CRG; n:15), cancer patients postchemotherapy and/or radiotherapy (cancer accompanied group or CAG; n:15), and control group (CG; n:15). All groups were given the questionnaire titled Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness of Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) with fatigue subscales to evaluate fatigue self-reporting, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) to assess quality of life, and FACIT-Trial Outcomes Index (FACIT-TOI) to assess functional and PWB. The analyses were performed at baseline (EV0), after 4 weeks of training (EV1), and after 8 weeks of training (EV2). Results: Initially, the CRG and CAG presented lower scores than the CG (P < 0.05), indicating a lower quality of life. After 10 sessions of exergaming, both CRG and CAG groups saw an increase in the FACT-G scores (P < 0.01; rho = 0.999; f(2) = 0.278), FACIT-TOI (P < 0.01; rho = 1.000; f(2) = 0.596), and FACIT-F (P < 0.01; rho = 1.000; f(2) = 0.646). For the CG group, no difference was observed after exergaming. Conclusion: Exergaming protocol demonstrated a positive effect on the PWB and FWB, fatigue-related issues, and quality of life of cancer patients.