Descrizione del progetto
L’esercizio come mezzo di prevenzione per la recidiva dei tumori metastatici nei pazienti affetti da cancro del colon-retto
Il cancro del colon-retto è il secondo tipo di tumore più diffuso in Europa ed è all’origine del decesso di circa 230 000 europei ogni anno. Circa il 30 % dei pazienti affetti da cancro del colon-retto sviluppa metastasi al fegato, che rappresentano la principale causa di morte per questa popolazione di pazienti. Considerato che l’esercizio ha dimostrato effetti antitumorali e di inibizione della crescita tumorale in modelli animali, l’attività fisica potrebbe rappresentare un eccellente trattamento complementare assieme alle cure farmacologiche antitumorali. Il progetto POET-mCRC, finanziato dall’UE, si propone di indagare se l’esercizio sul lungo termine possa prevenire o ritardare la recidiva della metastasi nei pazienti affetti da cancro del colon-retto. Inoltre, il progetto intende identificare la quantità ottimale di esercizio richiesta per ottenere tali effetti benefici.
Obiettivo
Every year nearly 228,000 individuals die from colorectal cancer (CRC) in Europe, the second most common cancer in Europe. Around 30% of the CRC patients develop liver metastases and these are the main cause of death. Removal of liver metastatic tumors is the primary treatment method for CRC, however, 50-75% of the patients experience a relapse of the metastases within two years, rendering adjunct treatment strategies necessary for these patients.
Preclinical work has demonstrated that exercise exerts anti-tumor effects as it is indeed able to inhibit tumor growth. Thus, exercise constitutes an excellent candidate as a complementary to the pharmacological treatment approach for CRC metastatic patients (mCRC).
My primary aim is to investigate the effects of chronic exercise on tumor recurrence after liver metastasis removal. Secondary aims are to identify the “optimal dose” of exercise to obtain the largest beneficial effect and explore the changes on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a marker of disease progression. I hypothesize that exercise training will delay or ameliorate disease recurrence in mCRC patients.
Patients will be randomized to 3 groups: control, group 1(300 min/week), group 2 (150 min/week) of combined aerobic and strength exercise training for 6 months. Study endpoints will be tumor recurrence, inflammation and immune markers, physiological adaptations and ctDNA changes.
The outcomes will provide essential knowledge about how to optimize the guidelines for exercise prescription as part of the treatment plan for mCRC patients.
The fellowship will be vital for my reintegration into academia and for me to evolve as a lead researcher. It also constitutes an ideal means of knowledge transfer between myself and the host organization as I will gain knowledge in the oncology area and advance my skills in molecular biology techniques while I convey my experience in dose-response methodology and the conduct of large-scale human exercise trials.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF-EF-CAR - CAR – Career Restart panelCoordinatore
3400 Hillerod
Danimarca