Abstract
Objective:
In this pilot study, we investigated the feasibility of a home-based, remotely guided exercise intervention for patients with gliomas
.
Design:
Pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with randomization (2:1) to exercise or control group.
Subjects:
Patients with stable grade II and III gliomas.
Intervention:
The six-month intervention included three home-based exercise sessions per week at 60%–85% of maximum heart rate. Participants wore heart rate monitors connected to an online platform to record activities that were monitored weekly by the physiotherapist.
Main measures:
Accrual, attrition, adherence, safety, satisfaction, patient-reported physical activity, VO2 peak (by maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing) and body mass index (BMI) at baseline and at six-month follow-up.
Results:
In all, 34 of 136 eligible patients (25%) were randomized to exercise training (N = 23) or the control group (N = 11), of whom 19 and 9, respectively, underwent follow-up. Mean adherence to prescribed sessions was 79%. Patients’ experiences were positive. There were no adverse events. Compared to the control group, the exercise group showed larger improvements in absolute VO2 peak (+158.9 mL/min; 95% CI: −44.8 to 362.5) and BMI (−0.3 kg/m²; 95% CI: −0.9 to 0.2). The median increase in physical activity was 1489 metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes higher in the exercise group. The most reported reasons for non-participation were lack of motivation or time.
Conclusion:
This innovative and intensive home-based exercise intervention was feasible in a small subset of patients with stable gliomas who were interested in exercising. The observed effects suggest that the programme may improve cardiorespiratory fitness. These results support the need for large-scale trials of exercise interventions in brain tumour patients.
In this pilot study, we investigated the feasibility of a home-based, remotely guided exercise intervention for patients with gliomas
.
Design:
Pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with randomization (2:1) to exercise or control group.
Subjects:
Patients with stable grade II and III gliomas.
Intervention:
The six-month intervention included three home-based exercise sessions per week at 60%–85% of maximum heart rate. Participants wore heart rate monitors connected to an online platform to record activities that were monitored weekly by the physiotherapist.
Main measures:
Accrual, attrition, adherence, safety, satisfaction, patient-reported physical activity, VO2 peak (by maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing) and body mass index (BMI) at baseline and at six-month follow-up.
Results:
In all, 34 of 136 eligible patients (25%) were randomized to exercise training (N = 23) or the control group (N = 11), of whom 19 and 9, respectively, underwent follow-up. Mean adherence to prescribed sessions was 79%. Patients’ experiences were positive. There were no adverse events. Compared to the control group, the exercise group showed larger improvements in absolute VO2 peak (+158.9 mL/min; 95% CI: −44.8 to 362.5) and BMI (−0.3 kg/m²; 95% CI: −0.9 to 0.2). The median increase in physical activity was 1489 metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes higher in the exercise group. The most reported reasons for non-participation were lack of motivation or time.
Conclusion:
This innovative and intensive home-based exercise intervention was feasible in a small subset of patients with stable gliomas who were interested in exercising. The observed effects suggest that the programme may improve cardiorespiratory fitness. These results support the need for large-scale trials of exercise interventions in brain tumour patients.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 352–366 |
| Journal | Clinical Rehabilitation |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- BRAIN
- CANCER SURVIVORS
- COGNITION
- FITNESS
- Glioma
- HEALTH SURVEY
- HEART
- OLDER-ADULTS
- PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY
- QUESTIONNAIRE
- SF-36
- brain tumour
- exercise
- physical fitness
- physical training