Does the Argentine Tango Sustainably Improve Cancer-Associated Fatigue and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors?

BACKGROUND: Chronic cancer-related fatigue is difficult to manage in breast cancer survivors. The tango trial showed that a six-week tango Argentino program was effective in reducing fatigue and improving quality of life, and here we investigated the sustainability of this tango program for breast cancer survivors.

METHODS: Stage I-III breast cancer survivors with increased fatigue symptoms were analyzed. The fifty participants in the tango trial were compared with a control cohort ( n = 108) who did not participate in the tango program. Using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Questionnaire C30 (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and the German version of the cancer fatigue scale (CFS-D) self-reported quality of life parameters were assessed and longitudinal changes, correlations, and association factors were calculated.

RESULTS: Significant improvements in fatigue ( p = 0.006), physical functioning ( p = 0.01), and diarrhea ( p = 0.04) persisted in the 50 Tango participants at 6 months, but not in the control cohort. Twelve months after joining the tango program, increased fatigue was associated with reduced sporting activities ( p = 0.0005), but this was not the case for tango dancing.

CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest that tango may be appropriate as a component of early supportive and follow-up care programs, to promote health-related quality of life and physical activity and also eventually to improve long-term clinical outcomes of breast cancer survivors.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration numbers DRKS00013335 on 27 November 2017 and DRKS00021601 on 21 August 2020 retrospectively registered.