The Neuro-protective Effects of Exercise in Children With Brain Tumors

NCT01944761 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 1000019124
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 32
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The objectives of our proposed study are to (a) evaluate the feasibility of conducting a structured exercise program in children treated with cranial radiation for brain tumors, (b) test whether exercise results in improved thinking skills and emotional function, and (c) examine potential mechanisms of improved outcome, particularly recovery of white matter and grey matter.

Conditions

Brain Tumor

Keywords

Pediatrics; Brain Tumor; Neuro-radiation; Exercise

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Feasibility of implementing an excercise intervention

  We will look at several factors, including recruitment rate, exercise adherence rate, retention rate and participant/parent satisfaction to determine the feasability of this intervention

  At week 42-45

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Fitness

  Baseline, once at week 26-29 and once at week 42-45

• Neuro-cognitive outcome

  Baseline, once at week 26-29 and once at week 42-45

• Neural recovery (gliogenesis/neurogenesis)

  Baseline, once at week 26-29 and once at week 42-45

Study Arms (2)

Exercise Training

EXPERIMENTAL

The 16 participants in this group will be quasi-randomized based on the order of recruitment to start the 12 week exercise intervention without delay (immediate condition).

Behavioral: Exercise Program

Delayed Exercise Training

EXPERIMENTAL

The 16 participants in this group will be quasi-randomized based on the order of recruitment to start the 12 week exercise intervention after a 12 week no exercise training period (delayed condition).

Behavioral: Exercise Program

Interventions

Exercise Program BEHAVIORAL

Designed to improve cardio-respiratory fitness, the exercise program will be conducted for 12 weeks at a frequency of 3-4 sessions per week. Each exercise session will be conducted after school for a total duration of 90 minutes (group sessions) or 30 minutes (home-based sessions). Group session activities will include i) warm-up (i.e. walk/jog, games) \[10 mins\], ii) aerobic training/fitness games \[30 mins\], iii) organized sports \[30 mins\], iv) cool down (i.e. stretching, low intensity games) \[10 mins\] and v) snack and reward (15 mins). Participants in the Group setting had three 90-minute group sessions per week. Participants in the Combined setting had two 90-minute group sessions and two 30-minute individual home-based sessions per week.

Delayed Exercise Training; Exercise Training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 7 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Survivors will be included if they are between 7 and 17 years of age.
• Survivors will be included if they either declare English as their native language or have had at least two years of schooling in English at the time of their first assessment.
• Survivors must have been diagnosed with a hemispheric or posterior fossa tumor and been treated with cranial spinal radiation.
• Survivors no more than 10 years may have elapsed between diagnosis and time of study.
• Survivors with a shunt will be included in the study, but will need to be identified prior to study on-set to discuss any specific considerations for imaging and physical activity.

You may not qualify if:

• are younger than 7 years (the delivery of an intervention program to young children carries challenges that make it difficult to include in an initial feasibility grant) or older than 17 years
• require sedation for MRI imaging
• is claustrophobic
• have severe neurological/motor dysfunction that would preclude safe participation in an exercise program.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hospital for Sick Children: lead
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

The Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Szulc-Lerch KU, Timmons BW, Bouffet E, Laughlin S, de Medeiros CB, Skocic J, Lerch JP, Mabbott DJ. Repairing the brain with physical exercise: Cortical thickness and brain volume increases in long-term pediatric brain tumor survivors in response to a structured exercise intervention. Neuroimage Clin. 2018 Mar 5;18:972-985. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.02.021. eCollection 2018.

  PMID: 29876282 BACKGROUND

• Piscione PJ, Bouffet E, Timmons B, Courneya KS, Tetzlaff D, Schneiderman JE, de Medeiros CB, Bartels U, Mabbott DJ. Exercise training improves physical function and fitness in long-term paediatric brain tumour survivors treated with cranial irradiation. Eur J Cancer. 2017 Jul;80:63-72. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2017.04.020. Epub 2017 May 25.

  PMID: 28551430 BACKGROUND

• Riggs L, Piscione J, Laughlin S, Cunningham T, Timmons BW, Courneya KS, Bartels U, Skocic J, de Medeiros C, Liu F, Persadie N, Scheinemann K, Scantlebury N, Szulc KU, Bouffet E, Mabbott DJ. Exercise training for neural recovery in a restricted sample of pediatric brain tumor survivors: a controlled clinical trial with crossover of training versus no training. Neuro Oncol. 2017 Mar 1;19(3):440-450. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/now177.

  PMID: 27555603 BACKGROUND

• Cox E, Bells S, Timmons BW, Laughlin S, Bouffet E, de Medeiros C, Beera K, Harasym D, Mabbott DJ. A controlled clinical crossover trial of exercise training to improve cognition and neural communication in pediatric brain tumor survivors. Clin Neurophysiol. 2020 Jul;131(7):1533-1547. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2020.03.027. Epub 2020 Apr 13.

  PMID: 32403066 BACKGROUND

• Baudou E, Ryan JL, Cox E, Nham L, Johnston K, Bouffet E, Bartels U, Timmons B, de Medeiros C, Mabbott DJ. Optimizing an exercise training program in pediatric brain tumour survivors: Does timing postradiotherapy matter? Neurooncol Pract. 2023 Sep 9;11(1):69-81. doi: 10.1093/nop/npad055. eCollection 2024 Feb.

  PMID: 38222057 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Brain Neoplasms; Motor Activity

Interventions

Resistance Training

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Central Nervous System Neoplasms; Nervous System Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Exercise Therapy; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Patient Care; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Physical Conditioning, Human; Exercise; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Donald Mabbott, PhD

  The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto Canada

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Psychologist

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 15, 2013
• First Posted: September 18, 2013
• Study Start: February 3, 2011
• Primary Completion: March 16, 2015
• Study Completion: March 16, 2015
• Last Updated: July 16, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)