Oral Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2018

Mice, Meso and Exercise (#120)

Scott A Fisher 1 2 , Carolyn McIntyre 3 , Kristen J Nowak 4 5 , Richard A Lake 1 6 , Rob Newton 3 , Anna K Nowak 1 6
  1. National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases (NCARD)., Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  2. UWA Medicine & Pharmacology, Nedlands, WA, Australia
  3. Exercise Medicine Research Institute, Edith Cowan University., Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  4. Western Australian Department of Health, Office of Population Health Genomics; Division of Public and Aboriginal Health, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  5. Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  6. The University of Western Australia Medical School, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Exercise medicine is a relatively new but exciting field in cancer care. There is substantial evidence that exercise can reduce the risk of many cancers and improve survival in some cancers, including mesothelioma.  Exercise during and after conventional therapies has been shown to be safe, improve symptom control, quality of life (QOL) and fitness, and reduce treatment related‑fatigue in a number of cancer populations. Additionally, the benefits of exercise for cardiorespiratory fitness, walking ability, and anxiety have been shown for people being treated for advanced lung cancer. Our preliminary data (McIntyre, Newton and Nowak) indicates that people with mesothelioma can exercise safely and gain measurable, clinically meaningful benefit. However, the biological basis of antitumour effects, and the potential to use exercise as an adjunct to therapies including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy (for symptom benefit or better treatment efficacy), have not been well explored. Furthermore, we are keen to understand if exercise has a tumour-suppressive effect, or can enhance treatment tolerance or even enhance treatment efficacy in lung cancers. Here we describe the use of our well characterised murine solid tumour models to enhance our understanding of the role that exercise may play in people with mesothelioma.