Basel [Switzerland], Nerve damage caused by cancer therapies often causes lifelong symptoms. In some circumstances, medication has not worked. According to research, simple exercises can prevent nerve injuries.
The research was carried out by a German interdisciplinary team led by a sports scientist from the University of Basel.
Over time, advances have been made in cancer therapy. Quality of life after rehabilitation is increasingly important; It's no longer just about surviving.
Unfortunately, many cancer drugs, from chemotherapy to modern immunotherapies, attack both nerves and tumor cells. Some therapies, such as oxaliplatin or vinca alkaloids, leave 70 to 90 percent of patients complaining of pain, balance problems, or feelings of numbness, burning, or tingling.
These symptoms can be very debilitating. They can disappear after cancer treatment, but in about 50 percent they become chronic. Specialists call it chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, or CIPN for short.
A research team led by sports scientist Dr Fiona Streckmann from the University of Basel and the German Sports University Cologne has shown that targeted exercise, concomitant with cancer therapy, can prevent nerve damage in many cases. The researchers reported their findings in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
The study included 158 cancer patients, both men and women, who were receiving treatment with oxaliplatin or vinca alkaloids. The researchers randomly divided the patients into three groups. The first was a control group, whose members received standard care.
The other two groups completed exercise sessions twice a week during chemotherapy, with each session lasting between 15 and 30 minutes. One of these groups performed exercises focused primarily on balance on an increasingly unstable surface. The other group trained on a vibrating platform.
Periodic examinations over the next five years showed that approximately twice as many participants in the control group developed CIPN as in either exercise group. In other words, exercises performed along with chemotherapy were able to reduce the incidence of nerve damage by 50 to 70 percent. Additionally, they increased patients' subjectively perceived quality of life, made it less necessary to reduce the dose of anticancer drugs, and reduced mortality in the five years after chemotherapy.
Participants who received vinca alkaloids and performed sensorimotor training had the greatest benefit.
A lot of money has been invested over the years to reduce the incidence of CIPN, explains Streckmann. "This side effect has a direct influence on clinical treatment: for example, patients may not be able to receive the planned number of chemotherapy cycles they actually need, the dose of nerve agents in chemotherapy may need to be reduced, or their treatment You may have to be fired.
Despite the investments made, to date there is no effective pharmacological treatment: several studies have shown that medications cannot prevent or reverse this nerve damage. However, according to the latest estimates, $17,000 per patient is spent each year in the United States on the treatment of nerve injuries associated with chemotherapy. Streckmann assumes that "doctors prescribe medications regardless, because the level of suffering of patients is very high."
On the contrary, the sports scientist emphasizes, the positive effect of exercise has been demonstrated and, in comparison, this treatment is very economical. Currently, she and her team are working on guidelines so hospitals can integrate the exercises into clinical practice as supportive therapy. In addition, a study has been underway since 2023 in six children's hospitals in Germany and Switzerland (PrepAIR), which aims to prevent sensory and motor dysfunctions in children receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy.
"The potential of physical activity is hugely underestimated," says Fiona Streckmann. She is very hopeful that the results of the newly published study will lead to more sports therapists being hired in hospitals to better take advantage of this potential.
The research was carried out by a German interdisciplinary team led by a sports scientist from the University of Basel.
Over time, advances have been made in cancer therapy. Quality of life after rehabilitation is increasingly important; It's no longer just about surviving.
Unfortunately, many cancer drugs, from chemotherapy to modern immunotherapies, attack both nerves and tumor cells. Some therapies, such as oxaliplatin or vinca alkaloids, leave 70 to 90 percent of patients complaining of pain, balance problems, or feelings of numbness, burning, or tingling.
These symptoms can be very debilitating. They can disappear after cancer treatment, but in about 50 percent they become chronic. Specialists call it chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, or CIPN for short.
A research team led by sports scientist Dr Fiona Streckmann from the University of Basel and the German Sports University Cologne has shown that targeted exercise, concomitant with cancer therapy, can prevent nerve damage in many cases. The researchers reported their findings in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
The study included 158 cancer patients, both men and women, who were receiving treatment with oxaliplatin or vinca alkaloids. The researchers randomly divided the patients into three groups. The first was a control group, whose members received standard care.
The other two groups completed exercise sessions twice a week during chemotherapy, with each session lasting between 15 and 30 minutes. One of these groups performed exercises focused primarily on balance on an increasingly unstable surface. The other group trained on a vibrating platform.
Periodic examinations over the next five years showed that approximately twice as many participants in the control group developed CIPN as in either exercise group. In other words, exercises performed along with chemotherapy were able to reduce the incidence of nerve damage by 50 to 70 percent. Additionally, they increased patients' subjectively perceived quality of life, made it less necessary to reduce the dose of anticancer drugs, and reduced mortality in the five years after chemotherapy.
Participants who received vinca alkaloids and performed sensorimotor training had the greatest benefit.
A lot of money has been invested over the years to reduce the incidence of CIPN, explains Streckmann. "This side effect has a direct influence on clinical treatment: for example, patients may not be able to receive the planned number of chemotherapy cycles they actually need, the dose of nerve agents in chemotherapy may need to be reduced, or their treatment You may have to be fired.
Despite the investments made, to date there is no effective pharmacological treatment: several studies have shown that medications cannot prevent or reverse this nerve damage. However, according to the latest estimates, $17,000 per patient is spent each year in the United States on the treatment of nerve injuries associated with chemotherapy. Streckmann assumes that "doctors prescribe medications regardless, because the level of suffering of patients is very high."
On the contrary, the sports scientist emphasizes, the positive effect of exercise has been demonstrated and, in comparison, this treatment is very economical. Currently, she and her team are working on guidelines so hospitals can integrate the exercises into clinical practice as supportive therapy. In addition, a study has been underway since 2023 in six children's hospitals in Germany and Switzerland (PrepAIR), which aims to prevent sensory and motor dysfunctions in children receiving neurotoxic chemotherapy.
"The potential of physical activity is hugely underestimated," says Fiona Streckmann. She is very hopeful that the results of the newly published study will lead to more sports therapists being hired in hospitals to better take advantage of this potential.
