Effect of Cognitively Challenging Physical Activity on Executive Functions in Pediatric Cancer Patients
NCT ID: NCT06839794
Last Updated: 2025-08-12
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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RECRUITING
NA
70 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2025-05-10
2028-12-01
Brief Summary
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In addition, physical activity leads to an improved fat-to-muscle ratio, metabolic status, bone strength and reduces cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, various studies show that oncological patients with sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) and frailty have a poorer response to their cancer therapy. This broad spectrum of effects of physical activity leads to improved and faster rehabilitation, is directly linked to the success of treatment and has led to exercise being an integral part of treatment in many paediatric oncology centres worldwide.
Furthermore, more exercise that includes playful cognitive tasks is expected to lead to improved attention, memory and academic achievement. Besides, it is important to try to get children to exercise at home outside of the inpatient setting. Hybrid (on-site and digital meetings) programmes also work for children and adolescents. Additionally, the research project offers sports counselling after the end of therapy to reintegrate the patients into everyday sporting life, be it in a club or at school.
The central question of the research project is: Does cognitive challenging physical activity developed for children and adolescents undergoing acute cancer therapy improve cognitive and motor performance compared to a control group receiving standard care?
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Detailed Description
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Conditions
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Study Design
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NON_RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
PREVENTION
SINGLE
Study Groups
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Control Intervention
Participants have access to standard care as usual and receive physical activity recommendations.
Physical activity recommendations
The children and adolescents receive general physical activity recommendations at the baseline measurement (t0). At the end of the intervention (after 12 weeks), i.e. after the final measurement (t3), they receive individualised and tailored exercise recommendations based on the test results from t0-t3.
Intervention
The intervention is a cognitively challenging physical activity (PA) intervention for children and adolescents with cancer undergoing acute therapy. The intervention is based on the "S2k Guideline: Promotion of Exercise and Exercise Therapy in Paediatric Oncology" and the international Paediatric Oncology Exercise Guidelines. And on study results and experience from previous cognitive challenging PA intervention studies.
Cognitively challenging physical activity for paediatric cancer patients
The intervention is a structured cognitively challenging physical activity (PA) program specifically designed for pediatric cancer patients undergoing acute therapy. It stands out from other interventions by combining motor and cognitive tasks simultaneously. Therefore, the target executive functions are inhibition, shifting, and updating. Additionally, the whole body is addressed by enhancing PA.
The PA program spans 12 weeks, with each participant engaging in guided, supervised 45-minute sessions three times weekly. Each session includes a warm-up, the cognitive challenging PA task and a subsequent multimodal sports programme with a cool-down. Exercises are adaptive and tailored to each participant's physical and health condition by offering three levels of intensity in both cognitive and physical difficulty. In addition, exercise counselling in maintenance therapy or aftercare supports young patients to reintegrate into the life after the disease.
Interventions
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Cognitively challenging physical activity for paediatric cancer patients
The intervention is a structured cognitively challenging physical activity (PA) program specifically designed for pediatric cancer patients undergoing acute therapy. It stands out from other interventions by combining motor and cognitive tasks simultaneously. Therefore, the target executive functions are inhibition, shifting, and updating. Additionally, the whole body is addressed by enhancing PA.
The PA program spans 12 weeks, with each participant engaging in guided, supervised 45-minute sessions three times weekly. Each session includes a warm-up, the cognitive challenging PA task and a subsequent multimodal sports programme with a cool-down. Exercises are adaptive and tailored to each participant's physical and health condition by offering three levels of intensity in both cognitive and physical difficulty. In addition, exercise counselling in maintenance therapy or aftercare supports young patients to reintegrate into the life after the disease.
Physical activity recommendations
The children and adolescents receive general physical activity recommendations at the baseline measurement (t0). At the end of the intervention (after 12 weeks), i.e. after the final measurement (t3), they receive individualised and tailored exercise recommendations based on the test results from t0-t3.
Other Intervention Names
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Diagnosis of any type of cancer requiring chemo- and/or radiotherapy, or CNS surgery, expected to last a minimum of at least 6 weeks at the time of recruitment
* Age: 6-17.99 years at time of recruitment
Exclusion Criteria
* Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems.
* Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons.
* Denied written informed consent from participants.
6 Years
17 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern
OTHER
University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
OTHER
University of Bern
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Valentin Benzing, Dr.
Role: STUDY_CHAIR
University Bern
Eva Brack
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
University Children's Hospital Bern
Locations
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Inselspital, Universitätsspital Bern
Bern, , Switzerland
Countries
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Central Contacts
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Facility Contacts
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Related Links
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Exercise Recommendations for pediatric cancer patients
Other Identifiers
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2024-00923
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id
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