Yoga for Patients Undergoing Thoracic Radiotherapy and Their Family Caregivers: Results of a Randomized Controlled...

Patients with advanced thoracic cancers undergoing standard radiotherapy (RT) have a high risk of experiencing performance declines and poor quality of life (QOL). Exercise programs may improve objective and subjective performance; yet, adherence remains poor. Including family caregivers as active intervention, participants may improve adherence and thus efficacy. Thus, this clinical trial seeks to examine the efficacy of a patient-caregiver dyadic yoga intervention relative to a dose-matched education/support (ES) intervention.

Patients with lung or esophageal cancer undergoing at least 5 weeks of RT and their family caregivers were randomly assigned to either a 15-session yoga or ES comparison intervention. Patients and caregivers were assessed at baseline (T1), the last day of RT (T2) and 1 (T3), 2 (T4), and 3 (T5) months later. Patients completed the 6-minute walk test (6MWT; primary outcome) and both patients and caregivers completed a validated QOL measure (secondary outcomes).

A total of 222 participants were randomly assigned. For the 6MWT, patients in the yoga group performed significantly better than those in the ES group across T2-T5 (least squared means [LSMs] in meters: yoga = 469 v ES = 441, P = .03). Patients in the yoga group also reported improved physical (LSMs: yoga = 44.7 v ES = 41.6, P = .03) but not mental QOL scores across T2-T5 compared with those in the ES group. As exploratory outcomes, patients in the yoga group also reported improved sleep (P = .01) and coping efficacy (P = .02).

Yoga significantly improves functional capacity and subjective physical QOL in patients undergoing thoracic RT. Involving a family caregiver may improve intervention adherence.