(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