The purpose of this study is to establish the feasibility of delivering a prescribed, individualised supervised aerobic and resistance exercise programme during adjuvant therapy, to improve survival and reduce symptom burden in pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common malignancy of the pancreas, representing 90% of all pancreatic neoplasms. The late presentation of symptoms and a lack of effective screening methods, means a large proportion (80-90%) are diagnosed with unresectable advanced disease, contributing to an unfavorable prognosis and dismal 5-year survival rate of \~5%. Intensive cancer treatments (i.e. surgery and chemotherapy) have debilitating complications including fatigue, pain and impaired physical function. Therefore, the maintenance of physical function and quality of life are seen as primary treatment goals for pancreatic patients, particularly during adjuvant therapy. Exercise training is emerging as an accepted component of patient care and evidence suggests regular exercise may induce an array of physiological and psychosocial benefits. However, there is a lack of evidence on the feasibility of delivering supervised exercise interventions to individuals with resectable PDAC undergoing adjuvant therapy. This study aims to explore the initial feasibility of delivering a supervised, individualized, and progressive concurrent exercise intervention to individuals with resectable PDAC who are undergoing adjuvant therapy, and provide data required to design a future randomized controlled trials.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
8
Exercise programs will be individually tailored to the capabilities of each participant and gradually progressed accordingly. Each patient will be asked to complete one home-based aerobic exercise sessions each week. At baseline, 16 weeks and 3 month followup patients will complete a physical fitness assessment (30 second sit to stand and six minute walking tests) and a range of quality of life questionnaires. Upon completion of the 16 week exercise intervention, patients will be invited to partake in semi-structured interviews to determine the effectiveness of the program and their experience throughout.
Belfast City Hospital
Belfast, United Kingdom
Feasibility - recruitment: number of participants that agree to participate or are excluded
The number of participants that agree to participate or are excluded
Time frame: At baseline
Feasibility - attrition: number of participants that withdraw from the study
The number of participants that withdraw from the study
Time frame: At conclusion of the 16 week exercise intervention
Feasibility - adherence to the exercise intervention: percentage of participants adhering to the exercise intervention
Determine the percentage of participants adhering to the exercise intervention
Time frame: At conclusion of the 16 week exercise intervention
Feasibility - participant experience: semi-structured interviews
Determined by qualitative evaluation, using semi-structured interviews to assess experiences, accessibility and acceptability of the exercise intervention
Time frame: At conclusion of the 16 week exercise intervention
Anthropometric assessment
Height will be measured in cm and body weight in k, which will be combined to report BMI in kg/m (squared).
Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Hip and waist circumference analysis
Hip and waist circumference will be measured in cm.
Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Functional muscle endurance assessment
The amount of repetitions achieved during a 30 second sit-to-stand test will be recorded.
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Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Physical fitness assessment
Distance covered in meters during a six minute walk test will be recorded.
Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Perceived physical activity levels
Patients will complete an International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF). This questionnaire will comprise 4 generic items to obtain comparable health-related physical activity. Patients will detail the number of days, hours and minutes that they undertake (1) vigorous exercise (2) moderate exercise (3) walking exercise and (4) sitting. Total physical activity will be generated and monitored for improvement or decline. Higher reported scores indicate higher levels of self-reported physical activity.
Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Cancer-related fatigue by questionnaire
Fatigue will be measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Fatigue (FACIT-Fatigue) questionnaire. Patients will score several fatigue items over the past 7 days on a scale (0 = not at all; 4 = very much), generating a total (0 - 52) with higher scores linked to greater quality of life.
Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Patient rated pain by questionnaire
Pain will be measured using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). Pain is scored on a scale 0 - 10, with higher scores indicating higher pain levels.
Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Well-being by questionnaire
Quality of life will be measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep) questionnaire. This questionnaire is scored on a scale of 0 - 4, with 0 indicating not at all, and 4 indicating very much. Higher scores indicate poorer quality of life.
Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Health related quality of life by questionnaire
Quality of life will be measured by the EuroQOL Five Dimension Questionnaire (EQ5D). Patients will select a level of difficulty (I have no - I have extreme) on that particular days health for mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain / discomfort and anxiety / depression. Patients will then rate 'how good' or 'how bad' their health is on that day using a 100 point scale (0 = worst health you can imagine; 100 = best health you can imagine).
Time frame: At baseline, 16 weeks, 3 month follow-up
Health economics
Health resource use will be evaluated by a Health Economics Questionnaire
Time frame: At 16 weeks