All signs of the cancer disappeared in the first patient who completed the exercise training programme during their pre-surgery chemotherapy.
Scientists Dr Nicola Annels and Dr David Bartlett, from The University of Surrey, are conducting an exciting new clinical study funded by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) which will investigate the effects of exercise on improving tumour outcomes for patients with advanced oesophageal cancer.
Oesophageal cancer is a devastating disease, and even with optimal chemotherapy and surgery, recurrence rates are high and survival is poor.
The research is being carried out alongside Oesophago-Gastric surgeons Dr Charles Rayner and Mr Abbassi-Ghadi at The Royal Surrey County Hospital. Patients with oesophageal cancer who are due to have their tumours removed following chemotherapy treatment will be recruited onto the study.
Patients recruited to the study will undertake an intensive exercise programme alongside their chemotherapy treatment, before they have their operation to remove their tumour. The study will investigate whether this exercise will result in the patient recruiting more immune cells into their tumour to increase tumour killing and death. The study will last four years and if the results are positive could provide significant justification for introducing ‘personalised’ exercise programmes to improve immunotherapeutic treatment outcomes in cancer patients.
Excitingly, all signs of the cancer disappeared in the first patient who completed the exercise training programme during their pre-surgery chemotherapy.
It will be really interesting to see how this novel approach fares in further patients recruited on this trial.
Dr David Bartlett with first patient