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“Exercise Interventions in Children with Cancer-EXITCAN” aims to improve both the efficiency of the treatment and the quality of life of the children with cancer, based on

– special exercises to improve fitness and overall well-being of children

– wellness programs for children who have survived of or who have cancer, through alternative methods, these programs involve the participation of the close social environment (e.g., brothers, sisters, friends) to strengthen their socialization

– training of health professionals (doctors, nursing staff, sports teachers), and training of the people who are taking care of these children (parents, guardians, teachers).

Childhood cancer is one of the top five causes of children’s death in Europe. More specifically, for boys it is responsible for the 18.5% of the boys’ deaths of ages 10-14 years old and for the 10.7% of the boys’deaths of ages 15-19years old, and for girls it is responsible for the 21.7% of girls’ deaths of ages 10-14 years old and for the 16.1% of girls’ deaths of ages 15-19 years old. More than 35,000 new cases of cancer are emerging every year.

Chemotherapy is part of the pediatric cancer treatment. Chemotherapy suppresses the immune system which might affect the physiological growth and increase the risk for infection development or delay the physical growth. Reduced physical activity has been observed during and after the cancer treatment because of the disease itself and because of the practices used for treatment. The consequences of this are malnutrition and/or the obesity, the reduced cardio respiratory function and reduced muscle mass, the fatigue and change in functionality.

Interventional exercise programs are still rare. About 46 programs in 10 different countries have been implemented, mainly in Europe. In most cases, there is a fear of encouraging exercise due to the feeling of pain, exhaustion and weakness.

According to the research in 2016 (Cohrane), on exercise and cancer, although it was not very clear, it appeared to have positive effects on body, flexibility, cardio respiratory function, muscle strength and quality of life.

Indicative Intervention Programs

Pediatric cancer survivors Engaging in Exercise for Recovery (PEER)

It is a program for children with age 2 – 17 years who have been diagnosed with any type or stage of cancer, for cancer survivors and their brothers and sisters. It was first held in 2012 by a team of scientists and the main goal is to improve the quality of life and to encourage children to become physically active.

Wellness programme for Youth (YTY)

Their goal is to improve patients’ quality of life by increasing their physical well-being, developing their self-confidence, prevent  the metabolic syndrome  and  sarcopenia  and promoting stress management , creativity and their relaxation.

The proposed program “Exercise Interventions in Children with Cancer-EXITCAN” aims to improve-in the long run-their health and their psychological state. In accordance with the European strategic plan of the European Society for Pediatric Oncology (SIOP Europe) and Childhood Cancer International – Europe (CCI – Europe) the goal is to improve both the efficiency of the treatment and the quality of life of the patients.

EXITCAN intervention program  is innovative in terms of both content and implementation actions. It is an integrated approach to the issue of the effect of physical activity on the combating of children’s cancer.

One of the most potent cancer-fighting weapons is exercise. While the benefits of a regular fitness program include keeping the pounds off, improving blood pressure and mental outlook, exercise can also halt the onset of some diseases. Several studies have shown that physical activity is linked with decreased risk of some cancers, particularly breast and colon cancer.

This project aims to include different actors involved in sport, nutrition, health giving the opportunity to have a complete overview of the situation and give sustainable solutions focused on the tackling of children’s cancer. Furthermore, it enhances the importance of the excercise for children , through innovative educational material and prevention tools easily accessible from tablets and mobiles.

An innovative aspect of EXITCAN is a complete need analysis for the recent evidence regarding the effect of physical activity in the improvement of physical condition of children during and after childhood cancer treatment. In the published literature, very few exercise interventions undertaken in the pediatric cancer or pediatric cancer survivor populations have been randomized clinical trials, and, across studies, the components of aerobic training, resistance, and flexibility exercises are implemented with differing intensity, timing, and duration. The need analysis will combine target group data collection, collection & processing of existing data and assessment of attitudes towards exercise, quality of life and physical activity of children during and after childhood cancer treatment.

The different perspective of each partner will help the realization of the project to sensitize adolescents as well as relevant stakeholders about the benefits of excercise through the implementation of interventional workshops.

A technical tool to measure target groups satisfaction from the project will be developed. By providing detailed surveys, we will assess their original knowledge about the importance of exercise and healthy diet for adolescents  and then we will ask them to assess their interest in the implemented workshops and material. The project’s results of every partner country will be on the web platform, such as videos and interviews, and will be available in partners languages.

Innovation

This project aims to include different actors involved in sport, nutrition, health giving the opportunity to have a complete overview of the situation and give sustainable solutions focused on the tackling of children’s cancer. Furthermore, it enhances the importance of the exercise for children, through innovative educational material and prevention tools easily accessible from tablets and mobiles.

Partnership

Coordinator:

• P1-University Research Institute for the Study of Genetic & Malignant Disorders in Childhood (U.R.I) -Greece
• P2-KOINSEP en drasei – Greece
• P3-Fundación Red Deporte y Cooperación (RDC) -Spain
• P4-WYŻSZA SZKOŁA BIZNESU I NAUK O ZDROWIU (WSBINOZ) – Poland
• P5-European University Cyprus (EUC) – Cyprus
• P6-Swedish Sports Confederation, Västerbotten (VIF/SSCV) – Sweden

Results

• Need analysis for the recent evidence.
• Creation of E-Handbooks/manuals for exercise