The purpose of this study is to determine if exercise preconditioning can mitigate the off target effects of chemotherapy treatment on measures of cardiovascular function, peripheral neuropathy, and quality of life.
While survivorship for those diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer has continued to improve, the significant off target effects of adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy have become more prominent. These off-target effects include increased risk of cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, and decreased quality of life. Exercise initiated prior to chemotherapy induction and continued through treatment has promise in terms of preserving VO2peak and potentially mitigating the negative cardiovascular and neuropathic effects of chemotherapy. The goal of this study is to examine the effects of initiating exercise prior to any oncologic therapy and sustaining this exercise paradigm in newly diagnosed women with ovarian cancer who are undergoing initial surgery and chemotherapy.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
8
Patients in the exercise group will perform interval training (HIIT) 3 days per week, with each session consisting of four, 4-min intervals at 85-90% peak heart rate (PHR), separated by 3 min at 50% PHR. Each training session will begin with a 10-minute warm-up at 50% of PHR and end with a 5-min cool down at 50% PHR. Patients will undergo 2 initial training sessions at the exercise physiology core lab. All exercise will consist of stationary cycling to avoid discomfort associated with abdominal surgery as well as stress to the incision and help reduce fall risk. Study investigators will check in weekly with participants and remotely track exercise data and compliance via the Fitbit app.
Patients in the control group (physical activity education and physical activity monitoring) will receive counseling regarding the benefits of physical activity during chemotherapy treatment. During the intervention, participants will receive a weekly phone call to discuss their physical activity and remind them to engage in physical activity. Patients will be given a goal of working up to 30 minutes of exercise daily. Subjects will be urged to increase daily step counts by 250-500 steps/day. Physical activity will be objectively assessed and made available to the participant using a Fitbit.
University of Virginia University Hospital
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
VO2 Peak
Change in VO2peak (L/min) measured at pre-surgery, pre-chemotherapy, and post chemotherapy
Time frame: 22 weeks
Global Longitudinal Strain
Global longitudinal strain (%) will be used to assess changes in cardiac contractile function and be measured by echocardiogram at pre-surgery, pre-chemotherapy, and post-chemotherapy
Time frame: 22 weeks
Ejection Fraction
Ejection fraction (%) will be used to assess changes in cardiac contractile function and be measured by echocardiogram at pre-surgery, pre-chemotherapy, and post-chemotherapy
Time frame: 22 weeks
Diastolic Function
E' and A' (cm/s) will be used to calculate the E'/A' ratio to assess for diastolic dysfunction and be measured by echocardiogram at pre-surgery, pre-chemotherapy, and post-chemotherapy
Time frame: 22 weeks
Brachial Artery Endothelium-Dependent Flow-Mediated Dilation
Changes in endothelial function as measured by brachial artery endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (%) at pre-surgery, pre-chemotherapy, and post-chemotherapy
Time frame: 22 weeks
Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity
Changes in arterial stiffness as measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (m/s) at pre-surgery, pre-chemotherapy, and post-chemotherapy
Time frame: 22 weeks
Blood pressure
Changes in measures of central and brachial blood pressure (mmHg) at pre-surgery, pre-chemotherapy, and post-chemotherapy
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Time frame: 22 weeks
Peripheral Neuropathy
A Neuropen will be used to assess for peripheral neuropathy via changes in perception to pressure prior to chemotherapy, at cycle 4, and after cycle 6.
Time frame: 22 weeks
Peripheral Neuropathy as assessed by the FACT-GOG-NTX Questionnaire
The functional assessment of cancer therapy/gynecologic oncology group- neurotoxicity (FACT-GOG-NTX) questionnaire is used to assess symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. This 38 item questionnaire utilizes the same questions as the FACT questionnaire with 11 questions specific to peripheral neuropathy. A 5 point Likert scale is used for each question and subscores are added together with high scores indicating better quality of life
Time frame: 22 weeks
Health Related Quality of Life as Measured by the FACT-O Questionnaire
The functional assessment of cancer therapy- ovarian cancer(FACT-O) questionnaire is used to assess health-related quality of life specific to cancer and includes a subscale for ovarian cancer. This 38 item questionnaire utilizes the same questions as the FACT questionnaire with 12 questions specific to ovarian cancer. A 5 point Likert scale is used for each question and subscores are added together with high scores indicating better quality of life
Time frame: 22 weeks
Quality of Life as Assessed by the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)
The Short Form Health survey is a 36 item questionnaire that is used to measure general health and quality of life. Responses in each section are scored on a scale of 0-100 (with 100 indicating good health) and averaged together for each subscale score.
Time frame: 22 weeks