Exercise is being increasingly established as a key adjuvant therapy in clinical oncology.
As research has demonstrated the beneficial impact of exercise for cancer management, a growing number of cancer patients are undertaking structured exercise programs.
PURPOSE: To determine the safety and feasibility of formal exercise testing in clinical settings as it is becoming increasingly used as a screening tool and for exercise prescription purposes.
METHODS: One hundred and twelve prostate cancer patients undergoing ADT took part in a physician supervised multistage maximal stress test (Bruce protocol). 60 patients had been on ADT < 3 months (acute) whilst 52 had been on ADT for > 3months (chronic).
RESULTS: Of these men, 85% were able to meet the criteria for the attainment of VO2max whilst three positive tests (3.2%) were observed. The three participants who recorded a positive stress test underwent further medical examination and subsequently cleared of clinically significant cardiovascular disease. Apart from the relatively low VO2max (24.7 ± 6.0 ml.kg.min:10-15th percentile), compared to normative data in healthy age-matched controls, the cardiovascular response to exercise was similar in this cancer population. Moreover, treatment duration did not appear to influence cardiovascular responses to exercise. This early evidence suggests that risk of adverse events during maximal exercise testing is relatively low in this population and certainly no higher than age-matched apparently healthy individuals.
CONCLUSIONS: Maximal exercise testing was demonstrated to be feasible and safe providing a direct assessment of VO2max. The relatively low number of positive tests in this study suggests the risk of adverse events is relatively low in this population and certainly no higher than age-matched apparently healthy individuals.
Written by:
Wall BA, Galvão DA, Fatehee N, Taaffe DR, Spry N, Joseph D, Newton RU. Are you the author?
School of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia; Edith Cowan University Health and Wellness Institute, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia; School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Australia; School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Department of Radiation Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
Reference: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014 Apr 1. Epub ahead of print.
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24694745
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