Physical Activity for Cancer Survivors ? launching a new field of study

Today, thanks to recent breakthrough research on physical activity after a cancer diagnosis, cancer patients are just as likely to find themselves with a prescription for exercise as they are for chemotherapy drugs and radiation treatments.

Physical activity in cancer survivors has grown significantly as a research area. And with the publication of the first-ever special issue on the topic in a leading behavioural and psycho-social science journal, Psych-Oncology, this field of study has launched into a new sphere of prominence.

Among the world's leading researchers in this area is Dr. Kerry Courneya, Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Cancer and honoured guest editor of the special issue. He's gratified by this scholarly nod to this emerging field of research.

"The dedication of a special issue to a topic within a prominent scientific journal is usually recognition that the topic has emerged as an important and worthy area of study. In some ways it's like a coming-out party and signifies the emerging importance of a field," he says.

"This special issue, in many ways, legitimizes this area of research and raises its profile within the fields of psycho-oncology and kinesiology. To see (this journal) devote this type of recognition is very exciting and indicates to me that many researchers and clinicians believe that physical activity has the potential to really contribute to the health and quality of life of cancer survivors."

The special issue of Psych-Oncology is available online at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122268901/issue. University of Alberta researchers have year-long access to this journal online.

Courneya's ground-breaking work in physical activity and cancer survivors has made him one of the leading researchers in this field in the world with numerous large research trials completed or currently in progress looking at the impacts of exercise on coping with cancer treatments, recovery after treatments, and long term survivorship.

His landmark trials include the now-complete START trial (Supervised Trial of Aerobic versus Resistance Training) which began in 2004 and was published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Oncology. This multi-centre trial, conducted in Edmonton, Ottawa, and Vancouver involved over 240 women with breast cancer who were receiving chemotherapy - and compared an exercise prescription for aerobic or resistance training.

Promising results from that trial showed a higher rate of chemotherapy completion among the weight trainers and greater fitness gains leading to greater quality of life improvements. These findings led to a currently ongoing trial called the CARE trial (Combined Aerobic and Resistance Exercise in Breast Cancer Survivors Receiving Chemotherapy). This five-year trial began in 2007, looking at the question of what type and volume of exercise would optimize health outcomes for breast cancer patients and enable them to complete their chemotherapy in the oncologist-prescribed time. Over 100 women have already been recruited to the CARE trial with a final goal of 300.

In addition, Courneya's HELP trial (Healthy Exercise for Lymphoma Patients), funded by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, was recently completed and has shown compelling benefits of exercise for lymphoma patients even during chemotherapy. A world-first, the lymphoma trial's findings will be published shortly.

His current project, the CHALLENGE trial (Colon Health and Life-Long Exercise Change) will shortly begin recruiting study participants. This large multi-centre trial will take place in Canada and Australia and is being conducted under the auspices of the NCIC's clinical trials group. This study is the first randomized trial to examine if exercise can actually improve disease-free survival in colon cancer survivors. Researchers are looking to recruit almost 1000 participants through cancer clinics in both countries including here at the Cross Cancer Institute.

Dr. Courneya is supported by the Canada Research Chairs program and his research has been funded by the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute of Canada.

More information about Dr. Courneya's work at his Behavioural Medicine Laboratory website at http://www.behaviouralmedlab.ualberta.ca/