Abstract LB334: Associations between adherence to American Cancer Society physical activity guidelines and long-term quality of life among breast cancer survivors in the black women’s health study
Authors: Natasha Renee Burse, Yihan Tang, Todd A. Schwartz, Shawn Kneipp, Allison M. Deal, Ashley Leak Bryant
Journal: Cancer Research (2025)

Abstract Purpose: American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends that adults in the United States engage in 150-300 weekly minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (PA) for cancer prevention, health promotion, and reduction in cancer mortality. There is insufficient evidence on whether meeting national PA guidelines is associated with better quality of life (QoL) among Black women with breast cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the link between self-reported post diagnosis PA adherence and QoL over time among Black women with breast cancer. Methods: The Black Women’s Health Study (BWHS) is one of the largest ongoing prospective cohort studies following the health of Black women (N=59,000) in the United States since 1995. The 2011 and 2019 surveys were used to address the primary aim. We restricted the analysis to women who completed both the 2011 and 2019 surveys and were diagnosed with breast cancer (N=965) prior to the start of the follow-up in 2011. We further refined the analysis to include only women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer who did not have breast cancer-related lymphedema and had no missing data on key variables, resulting in a final sample of 175 participants. PA adherence was categorized into three groups: no adherence, partial adherence, or full adherence. The outcomes were social functioning, physical, mental, and functional wellbeing. A general linear mixed model was used to examine associations between PA adherence and different aspects of QoL over time. The data were additionally evaluated for women with missing data (N=790) to determine the robustness of the findings. Results: At the 2011 assessment, the average age, body mass index, and years since diagnosis was 58.93 years (SD=9.29), 29.28 kg/m2 (SD=5.95), and 6.75 years (SD=4.30). More than half of the participants were employed (53%) and postmenopausal (82%). There was a significant difference in functional wellbeing between the PA adherence groups (p=0.0082). Approximately 41% of the participants met the recommended levels of PA. Participants who met the PA guidelines had significantly within group improvements over time in mental health (p=0.0252) and social functioning (p=0.0004). Compared to survivors who fully met the PA recommendations, those who partially met the PA recommendations had significantly worse social functioning (p=0.0448) at the 2019 survey. Conclusions: About 41% of Black women with breast cancer engaged in the recommended levels of PA, and those who do tend to have a better QoL status across multiple domains over time. These findings support the need for tailored interventions to promote and increase the PA levels of this group to improve their health outcomes. Future experimental studies should assess and address the needs and preferences of Black women with breast cancer to improve their PA levels. The text written by the first author was revised with the assistance of generative AI. Citation Format: Natasha Renee Burse, Yihan Tang, Todd A. Schwartz, Shawn Kneipp, Allison M. Deal, Ashley Leak Bryant. Associations between adherence to American Cancer Society physical activity guidelines and long-term quality of life among breast cancer survivors in the black women’s health study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_2):Abstract nr LB334.