Live Virtual Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2020

Detecting and preventing early cardiovascular ageing during and following cancer treatment: The effects of exercise training  (#103)

Tom Bailey 1 2
  1. School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. PULSE, Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of non-malignant late morbidity and mortality in cancer survivors. This is thought to be due to the cardiotoxic effects of cancer treatments and detrimental lifestyle factors which both increase CVD risk. Early prevention and detection of CVD is problematic and there is growing awareness of limitations for current approaches of cardiotoxicity screening. Early vascular ageing (EVA) describes the sub-clinical deterioration in vascular structure and function, and is an integrated marker of CVD risk. EVA can be investigated non-invasively through measurement of arterial stiffness, central blood pressure, carotid intima-media thickness, and endothelial dysfunction. Central aortic pressure and pulse wave velocity is the established hallmark of arterial stiffening and suggested to be one of the best early biomarkers available in adults to calculate prospective CVD risk and mortality, and is independent of traditional CVD risk factors. The aim of our program of research is to detect and prevent EVA in adults recently treated for cancer. Despite recent exercise and cancer guidelines and position statements, the protective effects of exercise training on EVA in cancer patients and survivors are still vastly understudied. This presentation will provide an overview of our work to date on detecting sub-clinical CVD risk in men and women undergoing or following cancer treatment, and the potential benefits of exercise training for preventing and alleviating EVA. Data will be also be presented from the “Fit for Treatment” intra-treatment pilot exercise program in a mixed cancer patient population (n = 20). Our aim was to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 12-week moderate-intensity resistance and aerobic exercise training program, compared to usual care, on EVA and CVD risk.