Health-related physical fitness of TYA during chemotherapy treatment
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Health-related physical fitness of teenagers and young adults during chemotherapy treatment. An exploratory study.
IRAS ID
222600
Contact name
Jim Richardson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St. George's University London, Joint Research Enterprise Office
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
The research question being addressed is what is the health-related physical fitness of teenagers and young adults during chemotherapy treatment. The patient population eligible for this research are teenagers and young adults (TYA) diagnosed with cancer between the age of 16-24 years old, living within the United Kingdom. The proposed study will be undertaken in an oncology treatment centre for TYA diagnosed with cancer. The aim of the research will be to find out the health-related physical fitness of TYA during chemotherapy treatment and to investigate whether there is a link between the percentage of chemotherapy they received and the level of their physical fitness.
This study is relevant and timely for this group of patients because of the well known immediate and long term side effects of chemotherapy treatment. These may include but are not limited to fatigue, problems sleeping, nausea, vomiting and poor appetite; reduced physical performance due to muscle weakness, fatigue, cardiotoxicity (damage to the heart muscle) and neuropathy (nerve damage) leading to problems with return to school, work and leisure activities and ultimately social isolation.
Assessing the level of health-related physical fitness during chemotherapy treatment identifies their minimum level of physical fitness which can then be compared to healthy young adults. It also provides an objective marker for health professionals to not only determine levels of fitness for chemotherapy, but also for strategic interventional planning to maintain or even improve physical fitness during treatment.
Recruitment period is intended for four months and participants will be required to carryout four health-related physical fitness assessments with a physiotherapist - the researcher. These include body composition, upper limb muscle strength assessment, a flexibility assessment and a cardiorespiratory walking assessment. The total assessment time is expected to be 60 minutes.
REC name
London - Chelsea Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0760
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jun 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion