(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Standard cancer therapies do not appear to affect a
survivor's cardiovascular fitness level, according to a new study.
Physical activity is closely linked with cancer survivorship both during and
after treatment, and physicians need a simple test to assess a patient's fitness
level before prescribing an exercise regime. Researchers at Georgetown
University Medical Center conducted a study to analyze a three-minute step test
that can be administered in a physician's office to determine if the test is a
useful tool for measuring a patient's current fitness level.
In
studying the three-minute step test, researchers discovered the expected
culprits – cancer treatment, type, duration or time since treatment, do not
affect cardiovascular fitness.
“That isn't to say there aren't side effects of some treatments that may hinder
physical activity, but when it comes to actual cardiovascular fitness as
measured in our clinic, many of the standard treatments didn't have a role,”
Jennifer LeMoine, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research fellow with training in
exercise physiology at GUMC's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, was quoted
as saying.
SOURCE: Study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle on
May 28, 2009
