Exercise Oncology Service
Our research group studies the utility of different methods to characterize the chronic and long-term adverse cardiovascular side effects of conventional and novel cancer therapies. By investigating the use of these tools, we can better understand how cancer therapeutics damage organs such as the heart and skeletal muscles, as well as identify those individuals at high risk of cardiovascular side effects. In doing so, we can design therapeutic interventions to prevent and/or mitigate these devastating side effects.
In our program, we conduct clinical trials to study the efficacy of structured exercise training interventions on cardiovascular outcomes in individuals before and during treatment, as well as following the completion of therapy, across a broad range of cancer diagnoses.
The second major focus of our program is investigating whether exercise training is an effective treatment for cancer. We adopt traditional laboratory approaches to elucidate the effects and underlying mechanisms of exercise training on cancer progression as well as to determine whether exercise alters the response to conventional and novel cancer therapeutics. This information allows us to design more-effective clinical trials that test a precise “dose” of exercise in selected patient populations most likely to benefit from exercise training.
