Information about the project:
Over 5000 childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) are alive in Norway and the number is increasing. Up to 80% of CCSs are at risk of severe disease or treatment-induced late effects by the age of 45. Late effects impact everyday function, education, employment and quality of life. Options for preventing late effects are limited but physical activity (PA) and exercise training may reduce late effect risks, improve health and QoL. PA interventions could therefore provide inexpensive and safe rehabilitation with potential life-long effects, but is not a part of the follow-up care of CCSs in Norway or elsewhere. Moreover, important knowledge gaps and methodological shortcomings remain, including heterogeneity of samples, assessment methods and outcome measures.
The PACCSs project will address these shortcomings by generating cutting-edge knowledge by:
1) Determining levels of sedentary behaviour, PA and fitness, and a broad range of associated factors;
2) Determining negative effects of the cancer treatment and late effects on CCSs physical fitness through extensive clinical and physiological laboratory tests
3) Exploring the perceived facilitators and barriers to being physically active among CCSs.
4) Together with CCSs, parents and municipality health care service, we will use this knowledge to develop a targeted PA rehabilitation intervention managed at the municipality level and test its feasibility.
An interdisciplinary consortium of user-representatives and national and international world-leading scientists and clinicians has been established, ensuring access to the foremost expertise and large cohorts of CCSs. Our results will enable evidence-based PA recommendations and rehabilitation to be systematically implemented in follow up care, ultimately improving the long-term health and quality of life of CCSs in Norway and beyond. The PACCS project provides a unique opportunity to establish strong international collaborations to improve paediatric survivorship care.
Here is the link to the protocol article:
Lie HC, Anderssen S, Rueegg CS, Raastad T, Grydeland M, Thorsen L, Stensrud T, Edvardsen E, Larsen MH, Torsvik IK, Bovim LP, Götte M, Lähteenmäki PM, Kriemler S, Larsen HB, Fridh MK, Ørstavik K, Brun H, Matthews I, Hornset E, Ruud E. The Physical Activity and Fitness in Childhood Cancer Survivors (PACCS) Study: Protocol for an International Mixed Methods Study JMIR Res Protoc 2022;11(3):e35838 doi: 10.2196/35838PMID: 35258456
Other published papers from the PACCS study so far:
- Larsen, M.H., Larsen, E.H., Ruud, E. et al. “I have to do things differently now, but I make it work”—young childhood cancer survivors’ experiences of self-management in everyday living. J Cancer Surviv (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-021-01066-y
- , , , , , , , , , & (2021). A qualitative study of young childhood cancer survivors and their parents’ experiences with treatment-related late effects in everyday life post-treatment. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 00, 1– 11. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15073
- Bratteteig M, Anderssen SA, Rueegg CS, Ruud E, Torsvik IK, Kriemler S and Grydeland M (2022)
Device-measured physical activity and cardiovascular disease risk in adolescent childhood cancer survivors. A physical activity in childhood cancer survivors (PACCS) study. Front. Pediatr. 10:977365.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.977365 - Larsen, M. H., Hansson, K. E., Larsen, E. H., Fridh, M. K., Petersen, N. N., Mellblom, A. V., Ruud, E., Larsen, H. B.,& Lie, H. C. (2022). The gap between expectations and reality: A qualitative study of psychosocial challenges of young childhood cancer survivors from the PACCS study. European Journal of Cancer Care, e13696. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.13696
- Götte M, Basteck S, Beller R, Gauß G, Schmidt S, Burchartz A, Kolb S, Grydeland M, Reinhardt D. Physical activity in 9-15 year-old pediatric cancer survivors compared to a nationwide sample. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2022 Oct 12. doi: 10.1007/s00432-022-04392-5. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36224439.
- Larsen EH, Mellblom AV, Larsen MH, Ruud E, Thorsen L, Petersen NN, Larsen HB, Fridh MK, Lie HC. Perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity in childhood cancer survivors and their parents: A large-scale interview study from the International PACCS Study. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2022 Oct 17:e30056. doi: 10.1002/pbc.30056. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36251019.
In addition, eight master students at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH) have written their thesis based on PACCS data and one Medical student has used data from the study for a master thesis. For titles in Norwegian see the “Bakgrunn” font.
For more information about the international part of the PACCS study and participating sites click here http://box5161.temp.domains/~paccsno/samarbeidspartnere/
