PRECISE: Pancreatic Cancer and Exercise

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common malignancy of the pancreas, representing 90% of all pancreatic neoplasms. The late presentation of symptoms and a lack of effective screening methods, means a large proportion (80-90%) are diagnosed with unresectable advanced disease, contributing to an unfavorable prognosis and dismal 5-year survival rate of \~5%. Intensive cancer treatments (i.e. surgery and chemotherapy) have debilitating complications including fatigue, pain and impaired physical function. Therefore, the maintenance of physical function and quality of life are seen as primary treatment goals for pancreatic patients, particularly during adjuvant therapy. Exercise training is emerging as an accepted component of patient care and evidence suggests regular exercise may induce an array of physiological and psychosocial benefits. However, there is a lack of evidence on the feasibility of delivering supervised exercise interventions to individuals with resectable PDAC undergoing adjuvant therapy. This study aims to explore the initial feasibility of delivering a supervised, individualized, and progressive concurrent exercise intervention to individuals with resectable PDAC who are undergoing adjuvant therapy, and provide data required to design a future randomized controlled trials.