New Guidelines Emphasize the Need for Cancer Patients to Exercise

Note: "some gynecologic cancers"/talks briefly about "changes in neuropathy"/treatments etc

" Research Gaps Remain

The panel found that there is consistent evidence that exercise training can lead to improvements in aerobic fitness, muscular strength, quality of life, and fatigue in breast, prostate, and hematologic cancer patients and survivors, but that the data for colon and gynecologic cancers are still too limited to lead to conclusions.

Multiple research gaps remain in this field, the panel notes. These include a need for greater specificity with regard to the dose-response effects of specific modes of exercise training on specific end points and within a broader range of populations, such as survivors of colon and gynecologic cancers.

They also urge fitness trainers who work with cancer survivors to learn as much as possible about the specifics of the cancer diagnosis and treatment to make informed safe choices with regard to exercise testing and prescription.

Cancer diagnosis and treatment effects numerous body systems that are required for and affected by exercise training, they conclude, and "because cancer treatments are increasingly customized according to specific tumor characteristics, fitness professionals may benefit from contacting the medical treatment team for more precise information regarding the treatments received.""