Determinants of Physical Activity Level in Pediatric Oncological Patients Treated With Cardiotoxic Therapy - a Study Protocol

NCT ID: NCT06256068

Last Updated: 2025-04-06

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Total Enrollment: 300 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-06-01
• Study Completion Date: 2026-06-30

Brief Summary

Cancer treatment in children is generally effective, but unfortunately, it often comes with side effects-unwanted negative impacts. Some medications used in cancer treatment, while beneficial in treating the disease, can have harmful effects on the heart and reduce a child's ability to tolerate physical activities such as climbing stairs, walking fast, running, or exercising. Physical activity is crucial for the proper growth and development of children, as well as for their future health as adults. The heart plays a vital role in pumping blood throughout the body, and its proper function is key to a person's ability to engage in physical activity.

The goal of this study is to understand the factors that influence physical activity levels in children who have undergone cancer treatment with methods that may be harmful to the heart. The researchers aim to investigate how these treatments affect the physical activity levels of these children.

The main questions the study seeks to answer are:

Do children who have undergone cancer treatment involving heart-toxic methods show lower levels of daily physical activity compared to children treated with non-toxic methods?

Is the level of physical activity influenced by heart-toxic treatment, or by other factors such as exercise capacity (measured through physical tests like treadmill or standing bike tests), quality of life, lifestyle, social and demographic factors, body type, or knowledge and motivation related to the positive effects of physical activity?

Participants will:

Complete a questionnaire

Perform an exercise test on a treadmill or standing bike to measure exercise capacity

Take part in the ALPHA physical fitness test, which includes simple exercises like jumping and running

Be measured for height and weight

Undergo a hand-grip test using a hand dynamometer

Wear an activity tracker for 14 days

Have an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart)

Researchers will compare 150 children treated with heart-toxic methods for cancer to 150 children treated with non-toxic methods. The children will be between 8 and 18 years old and will be 1 to 5 years post-cancer treatment.

The researchers hope that identifying the factors affecting physical activity levels in children treated with heart-toxic methods may improve cancer therapies for children, reduce side effects, and ultimately lead to increased physical activity. This would help promote better growth and overall health for these children in the future.

Conditions

Neoplasms

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: CASE_CONTROL
• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

study group

Study Group: 150 children aged 1 to 5 years, who have completed cancer treatment involving cardiotoxicity risk factors, are now being monitored in follow-up observations.

The participants' examination will include:

An exercise capacity test (CPET) to assess exercise capacity

An extended ALPHA (Assessing Levels of Physical Activity) health-related fitness test battery to evaluate physical function

Echocardiography to assess cardiac function

Questionnaires, including the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) to measure quality of life, the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS) to assess motivation for physical activity, and an original questionnaire to evaluate lifestyle, socio-demographic factors, self-efficacy, and anthropometric factors

Use of an ActiGraph GT3X Accelerometer-a wearable device attached to an elastic belt-to monitor physical activity levels for 14 days

No interventions assigned to this group

control group

Control Group: 150 children aged 1 to 5 years, who have completed cancer treatment without cardiotoxicity risk factors, are also under follow-up observation. The examination for this group will include:

An exercise capacity test (CPET) to assess exercise capacity

An extended ALPHA health-related fitness test battery to evaluate physical function

Echocardiography to assess cardiac function

Questionnaires, including the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) to measure quality of life, the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS) to assess motivation for physical activity, and an original questionnaire to evaluate lifestyle, socio-demographic factors, self-efficacy, and anthropometric factors

Use of an ActiGraph GT3X Accelerometer to measure physical activity levels for 14 days.

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. age 8-18 years,

2. diagnosis of, and completed treatment for, cancer >1 year and <5 years ago,

3. remission of the cancer,

4. treatment involving use of anthracyclines, kinase inhibitors targeting BRC-ABL, hemopoietic stem cell transplantation, and radiotherapy (TBI or mediastinum irradiation),

5. at least 6 weeks since the last signs or symptoms of an infection,

6. written consent signed by the parents/guardians and by patients aged ≥16 years. Control group

a. the same as for the experimental group and, b. cancer treatment without use of anthracyclines, kinase inhibitors targeting BRC-ABL, hemopoietic stem cell transplantation, and radiotherapy (TBI or mediastinum irradiation).

Exclusion Criteria

1. history of another cancer and its treatment with or without the use of anthracyclines, kinase inhibitors targeting BRC-ABL, hemopoietic stem cell transplantation, and radiotherapy (TBI or mediastinum irradiation),

2. significant physical disability or a muscosceletal disorder at the time of the enrollment (congenital or as a consequence of treatment, especially neurological complications and lower extremities conditions and amputation),

3. excessive malaise (at the time of the enrollment),

4. intellectual disability (on the level that disenables the participant from understanding and cooperation during the CPET procedure or ALPHA test),

5. active acute inflammatory disease including the following: autoimmunological, neurological, pulmonological, endocrinological, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal,

6. platelet count < 20 G/L,

7. hemoglobin concentration < 9g /dL,

8. severe residual changes (protein loss syndrome, peritoneal, pericardial or pleural effusion, arrhythmia, metabolic disorders),

9. previously diagnosed congenital heart defects or other heart diseases (including cardiomyopathy, heart failure, arrythmia),

10. relapse of the cancer at the time of enrollment to the study,

11. severe malnutrition <3 standard deviation (SD) body mass index (BMI) weight for age,

12. chronic concomitant diseases that could affect the CPET outcome, especially endocrinological, neurological, gastrointestinal, and pulmonological*,

13. lack of patient cooperation.

• endocrinological - decompensated thyroid disease, decompensated diabetes with hypoglycemia; neurological - conditions disabling the CPET performance due to musculoskeletal system alteration, uncontrolled epilepsy, myopathy; gastrointestinal - marasmus, decompensated hepatic insufficiency; pulmonological - asthma, interstitial lung disease, post-infection bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO) - additionally, pulmonary embolism, lower extremity phlebitis, kidney failure.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 8 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Medical University of Warsaw

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Julia Haponiuk-Skwarlińska

Principal investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Central Contacts

Julia Haponiuk-Skwarlińska, MD

Role: CONTACT

julia.haponiuk-skwarlinska@wum.edu.pl

515400472 ext. 0048

References

Haponiuk-Skwarlinska J, Gasior JS, Albrecht K, Laguna P, Werner B. Determinants of physical activity level in pediatric oncological patients treated with cardiotoxic therapy - a study protocol. BMC Pediatr. 2025 May 5;25(1):355. doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05714-5.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40320516 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

KB/54/A2023

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id