| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3946467 | Gynecologic Oncology | 2015 | 8 Pages |
•On average, endometrial cancer patients demonstrated significant disturbances in actigraphic rest–activity patterns initially post-surgery with significant improvement 4 months post-surgery.•However, obese patients and those having more invasive surgery revealed more impaired rest–activity patterns throughout 4 months of surgical recovery.
ObjectiveTo investigate (1) circadian rest–activity rhythm disturbances among endometrial cancer patients as they recover from surgery in comparison to a historical reference group of women with no cancer history and (2) health- and treatment-related predictors of dysregulated rest–activity rhythms in endometrial cancer patients.Methods60 endometrial cancer patients participated in a prospective, longitudinal study with actigraphic assessment at 1 week, 1 month, and 4 months post-surgery. 60 women without cancer from an epidemiological sample completed one actigraphic assessment, acting as a reference group.ResultsOn average, results revealed initial significant rest–activity dysregulation at 1 week and 1 month post-surgery for the endometrial cancer group and then significant recovery in rest–activity patterns at 4 months post-surgery. Similarly, the cancer group had significantly more impaired rhythms than the reference group at 1 week post-surgery, but demonstrated comparable rhythms by 4 months post-surgery. Among the health- and treatment-related variables examined, obesity and receipt of more invasive surgery were found to predict more impaired rhythms at all time points.Conclusion(s)The current study highlights significant disturbances in rest–activity patterns for endometrial cancer patients initially during surgical recovery followed by improvement in these patterns by 4 months post-surgery; however, obese patients and those having more invasive surgery demonstrated more impaired rest–activity patterns throughout the 4-month recovery period. Further research is warranted to understand how more impaired rest–activity patterns relate to health and quality of life outcomes.
