At a glance
- What the study gets you
- Access to the study treatment being tested
- Type of study
- Interventional (receives a drug or procedure)
- Time in hospital
- In-person visits at study sites — visit count not specified by the sponsor
- Drug or intervention
- Exercise (other), radiotherapy (radiation)
- How long the study runs
- Study runs about 6 months (dates as stated)
- About the drug or intervention
- Exercise — other: Participants will participate in up to twenty, supervised exercise sessions, performed within the radiotherapy department, immediately before each treatment. · radiotherapy — radiation: Study participants will have been diagnosed with stage I-III NSCLC and prescribed radiotherapy administered as 55Gy in 20 fractions over 4 weeks or 60Gy in 15 fractions over 3 weeks as their primary treatment as per standard treatment pathways within the trust
- Patient visit burden
- Not specified by the sponsor
- Type of study
- Testing a treatment
- Ages
- 18 Years and over
- Who
- All
- Number of participants
- 30
- Started
- 2026-06-02
- Last checked
- 2026-09
Plain English Summary
What is this study?
- • Testing a new treatment for lung cancer
- • NA - 30 participants
- • The goal of this clinical trial is to understand the feasibility of a co-designed, pre-radiotherapy exercise programme for people with stage I-III non-small cell lung cancer
Who can take part?
- • Ages 18 Years and over
- • Diagnosed with lung cancer
Where?
- • Belfast - Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, City Hospital, BHSCT
This is a simplified summary. Always discuss with your doctor before making any decisions.
About This Trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to understand the feasibility of a co-designed, pre-radiotherapy exercise programme for people with stage I-III non-small cell lung cancer. This involves people with lung cancer engaging in 20 minutes exercises sessions performed within the radiotherapy department and immediately before each treatment at a personalised intensity. The main questions it aims to answer are: To understand the acceptability of the exercise programme through monitoring recruitment rates, attendance of the exercise sessions, and adherence to prescribed exercise intensities. Adverse events will also be monitored to understand programme safety. Follow-up qualitative interviews will be conducted with participants, their family members, and health care professionals (HCP) to further explore the acceptability of the exercise programme. In total, participants will be invited to perform up to twenty, supervised exercise sessions scheduled immediately before each treatment within the radiotherapy department. Each exercise session will be twenty minutes in duration and will be performed on a stationary exercise bike. Regarding exercise intensity, there are four levels which may be prescribed depending on people's exercise history, baseline exercise experience, and personal preference. Participants may progress or regress exercise intensity levels throughout the programme depending on their adherence and preference.
More detail
This is a sequential, mixed method feasibility study consisting of two phases: Phase 1: Quantitative data collection (feasibility outcomes) Phase 2: Qualitative data collection (semi-structured interviews) The exercise programme used in this study was co-designed through a series of workshops and meetings involving individuals affected by lung cancer and healthcare professionals. Eligible participants must be receiving a prescribed radiotherapy dose of either 55 Gy delivered in twenty fractions or 66Gy administered in 15 fractions, adminstered daily over a 3-4 week period. Accordingly, participants will be prescribed either 15 or 20 exercise sessions, performed once daily and scheduled in alignment with their radiotherapy treatment. Exercise intensity is personalised and based on a submaximal exercise test conducted at the participant's baseline assessment. This test will be used to determine each participant's maximum heart rate, which will then be entered into the Karvonen formula (Karvonen et al., 1957) to calculate percentage heart rate reserve. This calculation will establish individual heart-rate ranges corresponding to light, moderate, and vigorous exercise intensities. Starting exercise intensity level (1-4) will be determined based on a baseline six-minute walking test, clinical frailty score, and participant preference. The four levels of exercise intensity increase in difficulty, and incorporate various durations of light, moderate, or high intensity exercise, including: * Level 1: 10-minute warm-up at light intensity continuous cycling followed by 10 minutes of moderate intensity continuous cycling * Level 2: 5-minute warm-up at light intensity continuous cycling followed by 15 minutes of moderate intensity continuous cycling * Level 3: 5-minute warm-up at light intensity continuous cycling, followed by 10 minutes of moderate intensity continuous cycling, and 5 minutes of 30-second-high intensity intervals * Level 4: 5-minute warm-up at light intensity continuous cycling, followed by 5 minutes of 30-second-high intensity intervals, 5 minutes of moderate intensity continuous cycling, and 5 minutes of 30-second-high intensity intervals All participants will wear a chest-strap heart-rate monitor during each exercise session to ensure they are exercising at the prescribed intensity. Session adherence will be defined as completion of at least 75% of the prescribed exercise duration (i.e. 15-minutes).
How this trial compares with your answers
Answer 2 more questions to improve match
What we know so far
Still need:
- • Tell us your age for better matching
- • Tell us your sex for better matching
Preliminary match based on your answers. Full eligibility requires on-site assessment including medical history, physical exam, and lab tests. This does not guarantee enrolment.
Eligibility at a Glance
Key info
- Age: 18 Years and over
- Who can join: All genders
What the study is looking for
- ✓Patients with clinically or confirmed by a biopsy NSCLC stages 1-3.
- ✓Planned to receive treatment with curative intention radiation as primary treatment.
- ✓activity scale (ECOG) performance status 0-2.
- ✓At least 18 years of age.
- ✓Can understand and communicate in English.
Who cannot take part
- ✗Unstable or new angina (diagnosed within the previous month).
- ✗Presence of new or uncontrolled heart arrhythmias.
- ✗Confirmed or suspected spinal cord compression.
- ✗Is receiving combination treatment with drug treatment or treatment that helps your immune system fight cancer.
- ✗Current active secondary cancer other than non-melanoma skin cancer.
See the full criteria
Where Is This Study? (1 UK site)
Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, City Hospital, BHSCT
Belfast BT9 7JL, United Kingdom
How to Get in Touch
Matthew Peter Beggs, MSc, BSc
Sponsor contactCONTACT
Gillian Dr Prue, PhD., HCPC, FHEA, MCSP
Sponsor contactCONTACT
