Highly favorable physiological responses to concurrent resistance and high-intensity interval training during chemotherapy: the OptiTrain breast cancer trial

Background Advanced therapeutic strategies are often accompanied by significant adverse effects, which warrant equally progressive countermeasures. Physical exercise has proven an effective intervention to improve physical function and reduce fatigue in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in this population are not well established although HIIT has proven effective in other clinical populations. The aim of the OptiTrain trial was to examine the effects of concurrent resistance and high-intensity interval training (RT-HIIT) or concurrent moderate-intensity aerobic and high-intensity interval training (AT-HIIT), to usual care (UC) on pain sensitivity and physiological outcomes in patients with breast cancer during chemotherapy.