Virtual Buddy Movement Therapy for Psychomotor and Social Development in Pediatric Oncology Patients in Remission

NCT07522905 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: EC/11/4/20251/0558/25
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children diagnosed between the ages of two and five. After cancer treatment, children suffer from fatigue and exhaustion, and thus a decrease in daily physical activity. In addition, lack of physical activity and sports causes a decrease in strength and mobility and affects coordination of movements, proprioceptive perception and balance, which can lead to the occurrence of many injuries. In addition, physical inactivity in children who have survived cancer increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases or causes overweight and obesity. In addition, the separation of children with cancer from their peers harms social, emotional, physical and school indicators of quality of life. The aim of the project is to determine the impact of 12 weeks of buddy-movement therapy on the psychomotor and social development of pediatric cancer patients in remission. The investigators expect a significant improvement in the motor skills of pediatric oncology patients in remission, specifically in fine and gross motor skills, in coordination of both hands, in body coordination, in strength and dexterity. The investigators also assume that after the introduction of 12-week buddy-movement therapy, there will be a significant improvement in the quality of life of pediatric oncology patients in remission, specifically in emotional functioning, in social functioning, in physical functioning and in school functioning. Furthermore, it is anticipated that after the introduction of 12-week buddy-movement therapy, the study will notice significant differences in motor skills between the experimental and control groups. It is also assumed that after the introduction of 12-week buddy-movement therapy, significant differences in quality of life between the experimental and control groups will be observed. The research will involve pediatric oncology patients in remission aged 5 to 12 years with acute lymphoblastic leukemia - ALL, who are treated at the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology of the National Institute of Children's Diseases (NÚDCH). The research participants will undergo an entry and exit examination, including body mass index (BMI; kg/m\^2) calculated from weight (kg), height (m), waist circumference (cm), hip circumference (cm), psychomotor examination using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition, and quality of life measured by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. They will be divided into a control and experimental group, with the experimental group undergoing a 12-week Buddy-movement therapy focused on the development of psychomotor skills and socialization of participants using Buddy peer support.

Conditions

Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma

Keywords

Pediatric Cancer Survivors; Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia; Movement Therapy; Psychomotor development; Quality of life; BUDDY

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Motor Proficiency as measured by the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2)

  The BOT-2 is a standardized instrument used to measure a wide range of motor skills. The BOT-2 complete form assesses 8 subtests of motor proficiency: Fine Motor Precision, Fine Motor Integration, Manual Dexterity, Bilateral Coordination, Balance, Running Speed and Agility, Upper - Limb Coordination, and Strength. The total point score is the sum of all item scores. The total raw point score ranges from 0 to 197. A higher score indicates better motor proficiency and physical performance. Standardized scores (Scale scores and Composite scores) will also be calculated for age-normative comparison.

  baseline and 12 weeks

• Change in Health-Related Quality of Life (PedsQL)

  The PedsQL consist of 23 items assessing four multidimensional subscales: physical functioning (8 items), emotional functioning (5 items), social functioning (5 items), and school functioning (5 items). A 5-point response scale is utilized 0 = never a problem; 4 = almost always a problem). Items are reverse-scored and linearly transformed to a 0 - 100 scale (0 = 100, 1 = 75, 2 = 50, 3 = 25, 4 = 0). The total score is sum of all items divided by number of items answered. Total scores range from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate better health-related quality of life (less negative impact).

  Baseline and 12 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Body Mass Index (BMI)

  baseline and 12 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Virtual Buddy-Movement Therapy

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group of participants will undergo a 12-week BUDDY movement therapy focused on the development of psychomotor skills and socialization of pediatric oncology patients.

Behavioral: Virtual BUDDY-Movement Therapy

No-intervention Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants in the control group will not participate in the virtual buddy-movement therapy. Over the course of 12 weeks, they will maintain their usual daily routine and standard follow-up care without any added targeted physical activity. Psychomotor performance and quality of life assesments will be conducted at the same time intervals as the experimental group (baseline and at 12 weeks) to provide comparative data.

Interventions

Virtual BUDDY-Movement Therapy BEHAVIORAL

Buddy - Movement Therapy (BMT) uses elements of integrative movement therapy, psychomotor therapy with activation programs and concentration psychomotor therapy depending on the training unit schedule (Hatlová 2003). The duration of buddy-movement therapy is set at 12 weeks with a frequency of 2x per week for 60 minutes. The main part of BMT will be thematic and will consist of 4 modules, adapted to the age and specifics of children: a) mainly focused on the development of fine and gross motor skills; b) development of coordination of both hands; c) development of body coordination, d) development of strength and agility. Elements of activation psychomotor therapy will be implemented in it, including gymnastic exercises, dance and expressive sequences aimed at initiating cognitive and emotional processes with an emphasis on the emotional experience of the exercise in children.

Virtual Buddy-Movement Therapy

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 5 Years - 12 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Age: 5-12 years
• Diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia in complete remission
• First-line treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia according to the treatment protocol
• BUDDY - a healthy friend aged 5-12 years

You may not qualify if:

• Participation in the movement program less than 80%

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Comenius University: lead
• National Institute of Children's Diseases, Slovakia: collaborator
• Scientific Grant Agency (VEGA) of Slovakia: collaborator

Related Publications (5)

• Schindera C, Weiss A, Hagenbuch N, Otth M, Diesch T, von der Weid N, Kuehni CE; Swiss Pediatric Oncology Group (SPOG). Physical activity and screen time in children who survived cancer: A report from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2020 Feb;67(2):e28046. doi: 10.1002/pbc.28046. Epub 2019 Nov 20.

  PMID: 31750617 BACKGROUND

• Li WHC, Ho KY, Lam KKW, Lam HS, Chui SY, Chan GCF, Cheung AT, Ho LLK, Chung OK. Adventure-based training to promote physical activity and reduce fatigue among childhood cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial. Int J Nurs Stud. 2018 Jul;83:65-74. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.04.007. Epub 2018 Apr 14.

  PMID: 29689482 BACKGROUND

• Howell CR, Krull KR, Partin RE, Kadan-Lottick NS, Robison LL, Hudson MM, Ness KK. Randomized web-based physical activity intervention in adolescent survivors of childhood cancer. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2018 Aug;65(8):e27216. doi: 10.1002/pbc.27216. Epub 2018 May 3.

  PMID: 29722481 BACKGROUND

• Ho L, Li W, Cheung AT, Ho E, Lam K, Chiu SY, Chan G, Chung J. Relationships among hope, psychological well-being and health-related quality of life in childhood cancer survivors. J Health Psychol. 2021 Sep;26(10):1528-1537. doi: 10.1177/1359105319882742. Epub 2019 Oct 17.

  PMID: 31621412 BACKGROUND

• Coombs A, Schilperoort H, Sargent B. The effect of exercise and motor interventions on physical activity and motor outcomes during and after medical intervention for children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A systematic review. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2020 Aug;152:103004. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2020.103004. Epub 2020 May 27.

  PMID: 32580035 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Leukemia, Lymphoid; Leukemia; Neoplasms by Histologic Type; Neoplasms; Hematologic Diseases; Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Lymphatic Diseases; Immunoproliferative Disorders; Immune System Diseases

Study Officials

• Adriana Kaplánová, PhD.

  Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Adriana Kaplánová, PhD.

CONTACT

+421908615773; adriana.kaplanova@uniba.sk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 28, 2026
• First Posted: April 13, 2026
• Study Start: April 7, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027
• Last Updated: April 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share