Researchers at the University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Institute discovered something simple and inexpensive to reduce neuropathy in hands and feet due to chemotherapy—exercise.
The study, involving more than 300 cancer patients, is to be presented this weekend and honored as a “Best of ASCO” among 5,800 abstracts at the world’s largest gathering of oncologists, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting 2016. More than a dozen other Wilmot scientists also were invited to present data at the meeting.
Investigators for the exercise study directly compared the neuropathic symptoms in non-exercisers to the pain among patients who took part in a specialized six-week walking routine with gentle, resistance-band training at home.
“If a cancer patient is having trouble with fatigue, rather than looking for extra cups of coffee, a nap, or a pharmaceutical solution, consider a 15-minute walk,” says Karen Mustian, associate professor of surgery. NBC News, March 3
“Our study, from one of the largest nationwide studies to date, shows that cancer-related cognitive problems are a substantial and pervasive issue for many women with breast cancer,” says Michelle Janelsins, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Rochester and Principal Investigator at the URCC NCORP Research Base.
As a result of longstanding research strength, the Cancer Control & Survivorship program at UR Medicine’s Wilmot Cancer Institute has been selected to receive an $18.6 million, five-year grant for a leadership role in a nationwide clinical research network to investigate cancer-related side effects.
The National Cancer Institute award to Principal Investigator Gary R. Morrow, Ph.D., M.S., is currently the largest investigator-initiated grant at the University of Rochester, and among the top five largest grants received by a UR Medical Center researcher in the past 10 years.
Wilmot is also one of only two cancer centers in the U.S. to be chosen by the NCI as a research hub for NCORP, which stands for the NCI Community Oncology Research Program. With the new NCORP funding, Morrow and his team will design and manage clinical studies that will be implemented nationwide. All of their work, which includes preparing manuscripts for publication in medical journals, revolves around supportive care for patients coping with side effects during and following cancer treatment.
