Exercising your way through cancer
The EU-funded FORTEe(opens in new window) project has launched a robust, multicentre trial(opens in new window) to assess how a structured exercise programme might benefit children and adolescents undergoing cancer treatment. Taking place in various centres across Europe, the trial aims to provide high-quality evidence for integrating precision exercise therapy as part of standard care in clinical practice. Despite significant advances in cancer treatments, children and teens with cancer still experience high morbidity and health issues such as cancer-related fatigue, treatment-related complications and physical inactivity. Exercise has the potential to reduce these side effects and improve patients’ quality of life. However, exercise guidelines and data pertaining to adult cancer patients are not directly applicable to children due to physiological, developmental and psychosocial differences. In addition, high-quality, large-scale data on children and teens remain scarce.
The multicentre approach
FORTEe is addressing this gap with its robust randomised controlled trial that spans 10 major recruitment centres based in seven European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom. Aiming to recruit 450 children, adolescents and young adults aged 4 to 21 years who are diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, the trial will be one of the largest interventional studies in paediatric exercise oncology. The rarity of childhood cancer makes such a sample size achievable only through a multicentre approach. Participants in the trial will be randomly assigned to either the exercise intervention group that receives a tailored exercise programme or the control group that undergoes usual care. The exercise programme is designed to last 8 to 10 weeks, depending on the cancer treatment, and includes endurance, strength, flexibility and balance training, adapted to each patient’s age, fitness and cancer treatment phase. Exercise sessions will be of moderate intensity and will take place three to five times a week, with the frequency and intensity adapted to the patient’s fluctuating clinical condition to ensure safety and maximise benefits. Exercise sessions will be supervised in person by qualified exercise professionals. However, in some situations, such as when patients are immunocompromised, the FORTEe trial’s inclusion of digital tools and telehealth solutions will make it possible for training to continue remotely. “In sum, the FORTEe trial stands at the forefront of a paradigm shift in pediatric oncology—transcending traditional notions of treatment to incorporate holistic, personalized exercise interventions as a core component of anti-cancer therapy,” a recent article(opens in new window) published in ‘Scienmag’ reports. “Should the trial’s results confirm its hypotheses, the implications could be transformative: pediatric exercise oncology may emerge as a new standard of care, reducing morbidity, improving functional outcomes, and ultimately enhancing the lives of countless children and adolescents fighting cancer around the world.”
An opportunity for knowledge exchange
FORTEe (Get strong to fight childhood cancer: an exercise intervention for children and adolescents undergoing anti-cancer treatment) has also launched a call for abstracts(opens in new window), inviting researchers, clinicians and professionals to share their knowledge on exercise interventions in paediatric oncology at the 3rd Pediatric Exercise Oncology Congress to be held in Mainz, Germany, in April 2026. The deadline for abstract submissions is 30 September. For more information, please see: FORTEe project website(opens in new window)
