ISEO – Inaugural Conference July 22nd & 23rd 2026 - organized by DKFZ

Exercise and Return to work after a cancer diagnosis: A prospective observational study

23 Jul 2026, 12:30

5m

Heidelberg Congress Center ( Heidelberg Congress Center )

1 - Scientific Poster Thematic Poster Session

Speaker

Alina Kias (Division of Physical Activity, Cancer Prevention and Survivorship, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany & Medical Faculty, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany)

Description

Purpose: Returning to work after a cancer diagnosis can be challenging due to a number of factors, including cancer- and treatment-related side effects such as fatigue. Exercise is known to have beneficial effects on fatigue and may therefore also support return to work. The aim of this study was to investigate whether exercising after diagnosis is positively associated with return to work, and if so, whether this association is mediated by fatigue.
Methods: Data was derived from a survey conducted in Germany as part of the prospective observational LIFT study (Longitudinal Investigation of cancer-related Fatigue and its Treatment). Using logistic regression, we tested for an association between the mean metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-minutes/week patients expended during exercise the year since diagnosis (log-transformed) and return to work (yes/no) until one year after diagnosis. Additionally, we explored the potential mediating role of physical fatigue (EORTC-FA12) using regression-based mediation models with 2,000 bootstrap samples. All models were adjusted for age, education, chemotherapy, and fatigue before diagnosis.
Results: The analysis included 327 patients with cancer who were ≤ 65 years old and employed at the time of diagnosis. The mean exercise-related MET-minutes/week since diagnosis were positively associated with return to work one year after diagnosis (Odds-Ratio=1.15, 95% Confidence-Interval (CI) [1.05-1.27]) and tended to a negative association with physical fatigue (β=-1.63, 95%CI [-2.75 to -0.52]). In turn, physical fatigue was negatively associated with return to work (OR=0.97, 95%CI [0.96-0.98]). However, mediation analysis did not indicate that the effect of exercise on return to work was based on physical fatigue (average causal mediation effect=0.0078, 95%CI [0.0023-0.0146]).
Conclusion: Patients who reported a greater exercise volume after their cancer diagnosis were more likely to return to work one year after diagnosis. The mechanism does not appear to operate primarily through reductions in fatigue.

Keywords

Return to work, Fatigue, Exercise, Survivorship