By Duke Medicine News and Communications
DURHAM, N.C. -- Patients who have undergone surgical
procedures for the removal of lung cancer can tolerate and
benefit from exercise regimens started just a month after
surgery, according to a new study led by researchers at the
Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"Previous studies have demonstrated that exercise can
benefit cancer survivors but lung cancer patients have been a
particularly challenging group, because surgery on the lung was
perceived to have a restrictive effect on the amount of
exercise a person can do," said Lee Jones, Ph.D., a researcher
at Duke and lead investigator on the study. "Our study showed
that this population can not only tolerate exercise but that it
can lead to improved tolerance for exercise, and better quality
of life."
This study lays the foundation for future studies looking at
the effect of exercise on survival in lung cancer patients,
Jones said.
The researchers will share their findings in a poster
presentation on Sunday, June 1, at this year's American Society
of Clinical Oncology meeting on May 31, in Chicago. The study
was funded by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
This study followed 20 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients,
who had undergone surgery. Participants had been diagnosed with
Stage I to Stage IIIb cancer.
The patients were expected to participate in three hour-long
exercise sessions per week, on stationary bikes. The study
lasted 14 weeks.
The attendance rate for the exercise sessions was nearly 85
percent, and patients were less fatigued and gained greater
aerobic fitness over the course of the study, as measured by
what is known as a "maximal exercise test," similar to the type
Lance Armstrong performed prior to riding in the Tour De
France. The test involves having a participant pedal until he
can no longer tolerate it, and then measuring his oxygen levels
by asking him to breathe into a device.
"What we found is that patients can stick with the regimen,
and that they are functioning a lot better as a result," Jones
said. "Investigating the most effective type of exercise on
changes in exercise tolerance, uncovering the mechanisms
underlying these changes, and whether these changes can impact
long-term survival will be the subject of subsequent
studies."
Study participant Danny Robbins said that being part of this
study has helped him develop an exercise habit, which he hopes
will help him continue to beat lung cancer, as well as combat
his high blood pressure and diabetes.
"Before I participated in this study, I struggled with
walking in the neighborhood with my wife," Robbins said. "Now,
I exercise five days a week and it's gotten to the point that I
don't feel like I have to do it; rather, I feel like I don't
want to miss it."
Other researchers involved in this study include Jennifer
Garst, Miranda West, Stephanie Mabe and Jeffrey Crawford of
Duke; and Neil Eves of the University of Calgary.
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