12 The potential role of exercise in the supportive care of neurological cancer survivors: delivering effective and appropriate programming through the Alberta cancer exercise (ACE) study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Exercise has been shown to benefit health-related fitness, psychosocial health, and disease outcomes in cancer survivors. PURPOSE: To review the evidence on exercise for individuals diagnosed with Neurological Cancer (NC); present data on NC participants in the ACE pilot and ongoing implementation study; and propose a framework to incorporate exercise into the care of NC survivors in Alberta. METHODS: The ACE program is open to survivors with any cancer diagnosis at any stage of treatment. Exercise programming consists of two training sessions per week, with the pilot and implementation studies being 8 and 12 weeks in duration respectively. Outcomes are assessed at study baseline, post-exercise intervention, and 24-week follow-up, and include recruitment and follow-up rates, health-related fitness, psychosocial outcomes, and cancer symptoms. RESULTS: NC survivors represented 7 of 80 participants in the ACE pilot; however, only 3 of the 7 (43%) completed the study. Findings suggested a need for consideration of supervised exercise for some survivors with NC. To date, 14 NC survivors have enrolled in the ACE implementation study. Participants are screened and then referred to either supervised clinic-based or community-based exercise. Seven of 9 participants have completed the ACE intervention, and 5 of 5 have completed the 24-week follow-up. NC participants improved or maintained health-related physical fitness, and reported reduced symptom burden and fatigue. CONCLUSION: Preliminary results suggest exercise training is feasible and beneficial for NC survivors. To optimize recruitment and outcomes, efforts are needed to better identify, screen, and refer survivors to appropriate exercise programming.