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Haematological and Oncological Training Therapy With Stationary Strength and Cardio Machines (HOT) in Routine Cancer
Sabine Felser1, Maya Engel1, Christina Grosse-Thie1,2
1Department of Internal Medicine, Clinic for Hematology, Hemostaseology, Oncology, Stem Cell Therapy and Palliative Care, Rostock University Medical Center, Rostock, Germany.
Background:
Exercise improves physical function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with cancer; however, nationwide structured programmes remain limited. A hospital in Germany implemented a donation-funded Haematological and Oncological Training Therapy with Stationary Strength and Cardio Machines (HOT), and a 3-year real-world data analysis aimed to evaluate its acceptance, feasibility, safety, and effects.
Methods:
HOT comprised 24 sessions of combined resistance and aerobic training, complemented by a sensorimotor module for patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), with a target frequency of two sessions per week. Patients with all cancer types and treatment phases were eligible. The study evaluated acceptance (e.g., participants' clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, reasons for premature discontinuation), feasibility (e.g., completion rate, training density), safety (adverse events), and effects (changes in strength [1-repetition maximum, 1-RM], cardiopulmonary performance [maximum power on a cycle ergometer], and patient-reported outcomes [HRQoL, fatigue, CIPN]) within a quasi-experimental pre-post design.
Results:
Between April 2021 and March 2024, 70 patients (60% female; mean age, 63 ± 12 years; range, 31-91 years) participated; 61% had solid tumours and 39% haematological malignancies, and 57% were undergoing active cancer treatment. Most participants (94%) had a history of sports participation. A total of 53 participants (76%) completed HOT, while 17 (24%) discontinued prematurely, mainly for health-related reasons. The training density among completers was 1.6 sessions per week. One adverse event occurred during a 1-RM test. Significant improvements were observed in strength and cardiopulmonary performance (p < 0.05), as well as in global HRQoL (p < 0.001), fatigue (p < 0.001), and CIPN (p = 0.003).
Conclusion:
HOT appeared to primarily attract sports-experienced patients, with haematological malignancies overrepresented. HOT proved to be safe and feasible across diverse cancer entities and treatment phases and was associated with improvement in physical function and HRQoL. The participants' high baseline motivation for exercise may limit generalisability.
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