Researchers are set to look at whether exercise during stem cell transplant for patients with the blood cancer myeloma is feasible and can influence patient outcomes.
A team led by UCLH physiotherapist Orla McCourt will look at whether partly supervised exercise can be included in the current treatment pathway and to see if exercise before and during stem cell transplant affects outcomes such as functional capacity (walking distance, hand grip strength, leg strength), cancer-related fatigue and quality of life.
Myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells – a type of white blood cell – found in bone marrow, and patients undergoing an autologous stem cell transplant (where a patient’s own blood-forming stem cells are collected) receive high doses of chemotherapy to kill the myeloma cells before having their previously-extracted stem cells returned in an infusion to ‘rescue’ the bone marrow. Treatment involves 2-3 weeks in hospital followed by months of recovery at home.
This latest study follows on from earlier research led by Prof Kwee Yong (UCLH haematologist) and Dr Abi Fisher (UCL Department of Behavioural Science & Health) which investigated an exercise programme for myeloma patients who had completed their treatment and were in remission or the plateau phase of their disease.
McCourt wants to extend this approach to patients who are still undergoing treatment – an approach known as ‘prehabilitation’.
“I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to deliver the intervention in the original survivorship study and see the improvements in confidence and fitness the participants made,” she said.
“What struck me was the number of participants who said they would have liked support to exercise at an earlier stage, and that they would have liked help during their treatment as well after to maintain some fitness or become more active.
“Most of the people with myeloma in that study had had a recent stem cell transplant so I became interested in designing an exercise study to possibly influence outcomes before, during and after transplant.
“We know that prehabilitation during and after cancer treatment is beneficial, but so far research has mainly been done in groups of people with solid tumours prior to surgical resection.”
“Often people with myeloma tell us there is a lack of information and support that they require to feel confident exercising during and after their treatment. My personal motivation for doing this research is to contribute to the evidence base that indicates that earlier input of rehabilitation and exercise can have a positive influence on many outcomes for cancer patients and their experience of treatment”.
McCourt is also conducting a survey of haematology health professionals across the UK on their knowledge and perceptions of physical activity during and after treatment for blood cancer. The survey remains open for respondents.
“Little is known about the views of health professionals working with people with blood cancer specifically. We hope this survey will provide useful information for how we could better integrate physical activity advice into our clinical pathways in haematology.”
McCourt is conducting this research as part of a Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Health Education England. This work is supervised by Prof Yong, Dr Fisher and Dr Gita Ramdharry (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology).
View details of the PERCEPT myeloma transplant prehab study on UCLH’s Find a Study platform and on the trial registry page.
