Exercise for Fighting Oncology Repercussions After Treatment (EFFORT)

Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Neoplasms

Treatments: Behavioral: Functional Exercise Training; Behavioral: Nordic Walking; Behavioral: Aquatic Exercise

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05980325

TCM-EFFORTv3

Details and patient eligibility

About

Cancer survival rates are currently on the verge of 70% at 5 years since diagnosis. Recent improvements in main cancer therapies including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and immunotherapy as well as developments of new biological therapies have significantly improved survival rates but unfortunately, cancer-related side effects continue to affect many patients even years after completion of main treatments. Exercise has been shown to not only ameliorate cancer-related effects before, during and after treatment but also improve disease-free and overall survival rates by decreasing risk factors associated with cancer risk and improving resilience to treatment. In this non-randomised, three-arm study, we aim to assess the effects of three forms of exercise (i.e: Nordic Walking, Aquatic Exercise and Functional Exercise) on physical performance, cancer-related fatigue, health-related quality of life and cancer-specific symptoms in a wide range of cancer survivors.

Enrollment: 45 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults diagnosed with cancer
• Completion of any cancer therapy in the previous 3 months with the exception of hormonal therapy
• Patients living within the Maresme Area
• No contraindications for exercise (oncology clearance or Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire negative)

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with any neurologic, cognitive or musculoskeletal impairments that prevent them to engage in any assessment test or exercise modality.
• Patients with unstable cardiac, respiratory or metabolic diseases
• Unable to speak or read Catalan or Spanish

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

45 participants in 3 patient groups

Nordic Walking

Experimental group

Description:

Patients in this arm will be assigned to a 12-week exercise intervention twice weekly based on Nordic Walking (NW). The intervention will be structured as follows: i) 10 min warm-up, ii) 40 min NW with muscle strengthening exercises interspersed in between and iii) 10 min cool-down. Intensity will be monitored with a heart rate monitor (when available) and/or Borg Scale to reach a moderate intensity for the first 6 weeks (4 - 6 or 55-65% HR reserve) to a moderate-to-high intensity the following weeks (7 - 8 or 65-75% HR reserve).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Nordic Walking

Aquatic Exercise

Experimental group

Description:

Patients in this group will be assigned to a 12-week, twice weekly water-based exercise programme to be conducted at a chest-high swimming pool kept around 30 to 32 degrees Celsius. Each session will be structured as previous: i) 10 min warm up; ii) 40 min of combined endurance and strength exercise training and iii) 10 min cool down. Intensity will be monitored using the Borg Scale to be moderate during the first 6 weeks (4 - 6) and moderate-to-high the following 6 weeks (7-8).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Aquatic Exercise

Functional Exercise Training

Active Comparator group

Description:

In this group, patients will participate in a traditional, circuit-based exercise training at a fitness facility twice daily during 12 weeks. Each session will consist of: i) 10 min warm up; ii) 40 min of combined resistance and endurance training using a circuit-based structure and iii) 10 min cool-down. Intensity will be monitored with a HR monitor (when available) and/or Borg Scale to reach a moderate intensity for the first 6 weeks (4 - 6 or 55-65% HR reserve) and will progress to moderate-to-high over the following weeks (7-8 or 65-75% HR reserve).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Functional Exercise Training