Objective: Treatment with immunotherapy has positively changed the long-term outlook of many patients with advanced melanoma; however, fatigue is a common and debilitating side effect.,Evidence indicates exercise can improve treatment-related fatigue for patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy.,However, currently little is known about exercise behaviors and preferences of patients receiving immunotherapy.,This project aimed to describe self-reported levels of fatigue related to immunotherapy; patient perspectives of exercise behaviors; and barriers and facilitators to engagement in exercise for patients receiving, or recently completed immunotherapy for unresectable stage III and stage IV melanoma.,Method: A cross-sectional purpose-built survey was distributed to members of the Melanoma Patients Australia closed Facebook group via an online survey platform.,The survey remained active for 1 month, with 3 posts during this time inviting members to participate.,Results: A total of 55 responses were collected.,Just over half the participants (n = 31; 56%) described exercising while receiving immunotherapy, with walking as the most common activity (n = 24; 77%).,Participants described a range of physical and emotional benefits of exercise, the most predominant being fatigue reduction.,Barriers to exercise also included fatigue and competing physical demands at home or work.,Patient understanding of what constitutes exercise appeared to differ from clinical classifications.,Conclusions: Results from this study indicate that patients are engaging in exercise while receiving immunotherapy, with the intent of mediating treatment-related fatigue.,Identification of preferred exercise activities and barriers will assist in developing tailored exercise interventions for this cohort.
Numerous epidemiologic studies have examined the relation of physical activity or cardiorespiratory fitness to risk of cutaneous melanoma but the available evidence has not yet been quantified in a systematic review and meta-analysis.,Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), we identified 3 cohort studies (N = 12,605 cases) and 5 case-control studies (N = 1,295 cases) of physical activity and melanoma incidence, and one cohort study (N = 49 cases) of cardiorespiratory fitness and melanoma risk.,Cohort studies revealed a statistically significant positive association between high versus low physical activity and melanoma risk (RR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.16-1.40).,In contrast, case-control studies yielded a statistically non-significant inverse risk estimate for physical activity and melanoma (RR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.63-1.14; P-difference = 0.02).,The only available cohort study of cardiorespiratory fitness and melanoma risk reported a positive but statistically not significant association between the two (RR = 2.19, 95% CI = 0.99-4.96).,Potential confounding by ultraviolet (UV) radiation-related risk factors was a major concern in cohort but not case-control studies.,It appears plausible that the positive relation of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness to melanoma observed in cohort studies is due to residual confounding by UV radiation-related risk factors.,Future prospective studies need to examine the association between physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and melanoma after detailed adjustment for UV radiation-related skin damage.