Keynote: Astronauts, Transplant and CAR T-cell Recipients: What Do They Have In Common?

Summary:
Reduced strength and stamina are common after a bone marrow/stem cell transplant or CAR T-cell therapy. Using a model developed for astronauts, it is now possible to measure fitness before treatment, and prescribe an exercise program that can help reduce the decline in fitness after transplant or CAR T therapy.
Presenter: Jessica Scott PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
To read this transcript, go to:
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Highlights:
(04:04): NASA identified several risk factors for side effects astronauts experience during and after space travel: astronauts’ lifestyle and baseline health before the flight such as smoking, being overweight, high blood pressure and high cholesterol; exposure to microgravity and radiation during the space flight; and, most significant, inactivity during the flight.
(07:54): Some of the side effects found in astronauts after space flight were “brain fog”, changes in white and red blood cell counts and decreased heart and muscle size.
(10:13): After the Gemini space mission, astronauts lost 25% of their fitness, which is equal to almost two decades of aging, in just two weeks. On subsequent missions, they found that exercise 30-minutes per day could reduce the loss of fitness.
(14:31): Cancer patients experience similar loss of fitness after treatment as that experienced by astronauts.
(17:23): A study of bone marrow transplant patients found that 25% had a decline in fitness six weeks after treatment.
(19:33): A study at Memorial Sloan Kettering found that three hours of exercise/week reduced the risk of developing a blood cancer by 6%, and the risk of death in blood cancer patients by 26%.
(22:37): It’s never too late to start and gain the benefits of exercise training.
(24:47): Before starting an exercise program, get medical clearance from your doctor.
(26:42): To determine the amount, type and frequency of exercise you should start doing, assess how many steps you currently take each day, and begin gradually increasing that, a little longer each day.
(31:50): It’s best to alternate days of low intensity exercise with days of high intensity exercise to allow your bold to rest and recover.
April 2024, Part of the Virtual Celebrating a Second Chance at life Survivorship Symposium 2024
Presentation is 34 minutes long followed by 14 minutes of Q&A
Key Points:
Cancer patients experience loss of fitness after treatment similar to the loss astronauts experience during space flights.
Exercise training before, during and after a bone marrow/stem cell transplant can reduce the loss of fitness.
Before beginning a new exercise program, get medical clearance from your doctor, measure your current activity - the steps you take daily - and gradually increase your activity each day.
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