A new randomized controlled trial out of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute has found that combining structured exercise training with reductions in sitting time protects against heart damage and declines in cardiovascular fitness in adults receiving stem cell transplantation for blood cancers. The average blood cancer patient loses 15–24% of their cardiovascular fitness during the allogeneic stem cell transplantation process and acute recovery phase (three-to-four months), the equivalent of around two decades of normal cardiovascular aging, ALLO-Active trial lead researcher Hayley Dillon said. Findings from the trial, published in Circulation , revealed that patients who participated in the four-month, multi-component activity program showed significantly better preservation of their cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiac function during and after the transplantation process, compared to those receiving standard care.
Associate Professor Erin Howden, senior researcher and Head of the Baker Institute's Cardiometabolic Health and Exercise Physiology research, said this is a significant step forward in improving long-term outcomes for allogeneic stem cell transplant patients. "It might sound counter-intuitive to exercise while undergoing treatment for cancer, but we've found that intervening during and following hospitalization for allogeneic stem cell transplantation with an activity program that combines structured exercise training and reductions in sedentary time , cou.