Patients undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer often encounter peripheral neuropathy, an adverse effect of chemotherapy that can lead to persistent pain and numbness lasting for months or even years.
A recent Yale study suggests that engaging in aerobic exercise for a period of up to six months can offer relief from this side effect.
The study aimed to assess the impact of a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention on ovarian cancer patients who underwent chemotherapy. Researchers performed a comparison with a control group consisting of patients who did not participate in the exercise programme. This investigation was conducted as part of the Women’s Activity and Lifestyle Study in Connecticut (WALC).
The outcomes of this trial have the potential to transform supportive care provided to ovarian cancer survivors, presenting a novel approach to managing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).
Senior study author Leah Ferrucci, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and a member of Yale Cancer Center, said, “These findings provide compelling evidence that a structured, home-based aerobic exercise program can significantly improve CIPN in ovarian cancer survivors who have completed chemotherapy”.
Participants assigned to the exercise intervention group of the study experienced a notable reduction of 1.3 points in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) symptoms upon completing the six-month program. Whereas, those in the control group, who solely received weekly health education phone calls, witnessed a slight escalation in CIPN symptoms, experiencing an increase of 0.4 points.
Integrating recommendations for exercise intervention programmes into routine oncology care has the potential to effectively reduce symptoms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and enrich the quality of life for ovarian cancer patients.
While it is imperative to conduct further research to validate these promising results in patients with ovarian cancer and other cancer types, the success of aerobic exercise in alleviating CIPN could prove to be a reliable treatment and a better approach to manage neuropathy symptoms.
Source: Yale School of Medicine
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