How excercise can help mitigate the negative effects of chemotherapy

Study shows that exercise can help cancer treatment

LJMU scientists have produced a ground-breaking study that shows exercise during chemotherapy can reduce tumour growth. OLI JOHNSON reports

Anew study has found that cancer patients who followed a course of exercise ahead of their chemotherapy surgery saw their tumours begin to shrink, compared to patients who were treated in the usual way.

Patients who took part in the trial also experienced a strengthening of the immune system, a partial reverse of chemo-related deconditioning (muscle loss) and improved muscle mass leading to an improvement in quality of life during treatment.

Greg Whyte OBE, professor of sport and exercise sciences at Liverpool John Moores University, commented on the research and talked about how exercise can do more than just aid the treatment.

He said: “Chemotherapy plays a key role in cancer treatment but can result in a number of unwanted side effects which have a direct impact on patients’ quality of life.

“It is incredibly encouraging to see the positive impact of exercise during treatment on chemotherapy response as well as reducing some of the negative side-effects leading to an improvement in quality of life,”

The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine early in February, and scientists involved have said: “It was an extremely encouraging moment to observe.”

In the trial, the team compared two groups of oesophageal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy prior to surgery. Twenty-one patients were assigned to a structured exercise regime for 16 weeks, while a second group of 19 patients followed standard care without structured exercise.

The exercise was based on a ‘moderate intensity’ programme in line with World Health Organisation and UK Chief Medical Officer guidelines for physical activity for health.

The results showed that the ‘exercise’ group demonstrated higher rates of tumour regression, improved immune function, reduced inflammation, and a reduction in chemotherapy-related reductions in muscle mass and physical deconditioning.

Although this particular study included oesophageal cancer patients, the team say the data is potentially relevant to any cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy. Exercise will improve fitness, body strength and will aid the chemotherapy treatment.

The ground-breaking study could prove hugely beneficial to patients due to undergo chemotherapy, and there are an increasing number of centres in the UK offering exercise prehabilition and rehabilitation as part of standard cancer care. Prehabilition means treatment, such as a course of exercise, prior to the surgery, and rehabilition is after the surgery.

Andrew Davies, Consultant Surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and lead author of the study, is keen for more places to include exercise as a part of every treatment.

He said: “This is the first time a relationship between exercise and chemotherapy response has been shown in a human trial and opens up the possibility of benefitting patients with other types of cancer and those in palliative as well as curative settings. The argument for exercise now being a standard part of our treatment strategy for cancer becomes even stronger.”

Exercise prehabilitation is highly beneficial for people undergoing any other surgeries as well, as it can reduce the length of stay in hospital, enhance post-op recovery and most importantly improve quality of life. The trial was funded by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, who pride themselves on supporting NHS staff and pioneering new approaches to treatment to help discover new solutions.

It is incredibly encouraging ‘ ‘

Photo: LJMU