Cancer and its treatment can have profound effects on skeletal muscle, the most well-recognized being atrophy, weakness and diminished oxidative capacity. These adaptations negatively impact quality of life, treatment decisions and survival. Despite these consequences, the factors promoting these adaptations remain poorly defined and understudied in human patients. To address this gap in knowledge, our goal in this study is to examine the role of muscle disuse as a regulator of muscle size and function in human cancer patients
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
11
Unilateral lower limb resistance exercise will be performed 3 times per week for 8 weeks in non-small cell lung cancer patients on only one leg, while the contralateral leg serves as a non-exercising control.
University of Vermont College of Medicine
Burlington, Vermont, United States
Cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle fibers
Cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle fibers will be evaluated using immunohistochemistry, with specification of all relevant muscle fiber types
Time frame: Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks
Single muscle fiber contractile function
Segments of chemically-skinned single human muscle fibers will be assessed for cellular and molecular contractile parameters under maximal calcium-activated conditions, with muscle fiber type determined post-measurement by gel electrophoresis
Time frame: Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks
Mitochondrial content
Mitochondrial content will be assessed by electron microscopy.
Time frame: Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks
Mitochondrial function
Mitochondrial function will be assessed on isolated mitochondria
Time frame: Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks
Whole muscle size
Whole muscle size will be measured by computed tomography at the mid-thigh level.
Time frame: Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks
Whole muscle isometric function
Whole muscle volitional contractile function will be measured by isometric Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks by isometric dynamometry.
Time frame: Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks
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Whole muscle isokinetic function
Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks by isokinetic dynamometry
Time frame: Difference between the change in the exercised and non-exercised leg from baseline to 8 weeks