PRECISE: Pancreatic cancer and exercise
Research type
Research Study
Full title
PRECISE: PancREatic Cancer: Individualised Supervised Exercise: a feasibility study
IRAS ID
265923
Contact name
Gillian Prue
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 26 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Exercising during cancer treatment can help manage many symptoms such as pain, fatigue and worry. We currently do not know much about exercise for patients with pancreatic cancer, a severe illness, with limited effective treatment options. The treatment can lead to weight loss, fatigue, pain, bowel issues and problems with balance and sensation. There is the potential that undertaking an exercise programme while receiving chemotherapy could help with these symptoms which could in turn help with tolerating treatment. It could also help make chemotherapy more effective and might influence survival, extending the time before further treatment is needed.
For this study we will ask people with pancreatic cancer who have had surgery to come to supervised exercise sessions during chemotherapy. The exercise programme will be prescribed to each person, and continuously modified to suit their needs and also maximise its effect. The exercise programme will allow each person to ‘auto-regulate’ their exercise i.e. each participant progresses at their own pace taking account of how they feel on each day, but we will ensure they receive the full dose of exercise that they need.
As this approach has not been tested in pancreatic cancer, we are going to start with asking some people with pancreatic cancer if they would be interested in taking part in an exercise programme. If they agree we will collect data on how well they can complete the exercises, attendance, and how they feel about and during their exercises. We will interview each person who takes part in the programme, but importantly we will also ask to interview people with pancreatic cancer who decide to not take part in the exercise programme about their reasons for this, to see if we can work out a way that would make a programme like this more appealing to everyone.Summary of Results
Sixteen-weeks of supervised, progressive, aerobic and resistance exercise is feasible and safe following surgery and during chemotherapy for patients with pancreatic cancer. Feasibility was assessed using recruitment, retention and adherence rates, while adverse events were monitored for safety. Functional fitness and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were captured before (after 2 cycles of chemotherapy) and following the intervention (16-weeks, end of chemotherapy) and at 3-months follow-up. Eleven patients were screened by clinicians and deemed eligible. Eight patients consented to participate in this trial, with five (63%) proceeding to enrol in exercise training. Thus, the recruitment rate (the proportion enrolled versus eligible) was 46%. The retention rate was 100% (5 / 5), however one patient did not participate in any exercise training, due to a series of treatment-related side effects. The adherence rate (to the trial protocol) ranged from 50-88%, which is excellent considering the circumstances. Positively, no intervention-related adverse events occurred during the trial and exercise training improved functional fitness and muscular strength, during a time that it would be expected to deteriorate. HRQoL measures were acceptable and completed in full, while outcomes varied on an individual basis, with some improving and others declining, as a natural response to treatment. This case series provides preliminary evidence that exercise training during treatment is safe, feasible and well tolerated. Exercise training prevented functional decline, with improved fitness, muscular strength and HRQoL, in some or all participants. Given the adverse effects of treatment, these findings are promising and may facilitate surgical rehabilitation and help in managing treatment side effects.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
19/ES/0125
Date of REC Opinion
22 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion