Hematologic MalignanciesNCT07872813
Effects of Resistance Training on Recovery During Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
A study testing 8-week Elastic Band Resistance Training Program in people with Hematologic Malignancies and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, run by Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan at 1 site in Taiwan.
Trial summary
This study investigates whether a resistance training program can help patients recovering from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematologic malignancies. HSCT is a vital treatment, but it comes with a high risk of severe complications. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Hematologic Malignancies, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Resistance Training
- What is being tested?
- 8-week Elastic Band Resistance Training Program
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 86 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTaiwan
- Study dates
- 12 Oct 2026to 31 May 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Patients aged 18 years and older.
- Patients must be conscious.
- Able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese, or possess reading and writing literacy.
- Diagnosed with hematological malignancies, including Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Hodgkin lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Multiple myeloma, or Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS).
- Scheduled to undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), including autologous and allogeneic transplantation.
- Assessed by the individual subject's attending physician as eligible to participate in resistance exercise training.
- ECOG performance status ≤ 2.
Who cannot join
- Absolute contraindications to exercise, including cardiac insufficiency (NYHA Class III/IV or unexplained arrhythmia, aortic dissection, and severe aortic stenosis), uncontrolled hypertension (resting systolic blood pressure > 200 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure > 110 mmHg), and severe musculoskeletal injury.
- Cancellation of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) due to clinical deterioration or medical instability.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Taiwan1 site
Taipei Veterans General Hospital
Taipei, 11217
Han-Wei Su, +886960060850, hanweisu0@gmail.com
About this study
Official title: Effects of a Resistance Training Program on Hematological Recovery Rate, GVHD Severity, and Cancer-related Fatigue During Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
This study investigates whether a resistance training program can help patients recovering from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematologic malignancies.
HSCT is a vital treatment, but it comes with a high risk of severe complications. These include opportunistic infections caused by low white blood cell counts (neutropenia) and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), where donor cells attack the patient's body. Additionally, more than half of patients suffered from severe cancer-related fatigue during or after transplantation, which significantly lowers their quality of life. Currently, treatments for these complications rely almost entirely on medication.
Read more
The purpose of this study is to see if an 8-week elastic band resistance training program can speed up blood cell recovery, reduce the severity of aGVHD, shorten hospital stays, and alleviate cancer-related fatigue.
A total of 86 patients preparing for HSCT at Taipei Veterans General Hospital will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:
- The Resistance Training Group (43 patients): Participants will perform 45-minute elastic band exercises three times a week, starting four weeks before their transplant and continuing until four weeks after.
- The Control Group (43 patients): Participants will receive standard routine care.
The study will compare the two groups by measuring how many days it takes for white blood cells to recover, the occurrence and severity of aGVHD, muscle strength (hand grip and lower limbs), fatigue levels, and the total length of hospital stays.
Read the detailed description
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an important treatment option for hematologic malignancies, and survival rates have been improving year by year with medical advancements. However, the risk of post-transplant complications is also high, among which opportunistic infections caused by neutropenia and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) pose the most significant risks. If inappropriate treatment is provided in the acute phase, it will damage normal tissues, leading to early onset of chronic diseases and potentially increasing mortality. Currently, the treatment for neutropenia and aGVHD is limited to drug therapy. In addition, more than half of patients experience cancer-related fatigue during or after transplantation which cause bad quality of life. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of resistance training programs during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in improving blood cell recovery rate, aGVHD severity, shortening hospital stay, and reducing cancer-related fatigue. An experimental study design is adopted, and enrollment will be conducted at the hematologic oncology ward and bone marrow transplant center in Taipei Veteran General Hospital to facilitate sampling. 86 eligible patients with hematologic malignancies about to receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation will be recruited and randomly assigned to a resistance training group (43 patients) and a routine care control group (43 patients). Patients in the resistance training group will receive resistance training intervention starting four weeks before transplantation until the fourth week after transplantation, for a total of eight weeks, with 45 minutes of elastic band resistance training three times a week. The control group will receive routine care. The data we need to collect includes basic personal information (pre-transformation only), the number of days after transplantation when neutrophils recover to 500/uL, the occurrence and grade of aGVHD (limited to allogeneic stem cell transplantation patients), hand grip strength and lower limb muscle strength, and fatigue levels. The chi-square test and independent samples t-test will be used to examine the homogeneity of demographic and disease characteristics between the two groups; survival analysis will be used to analyze the difference in the number of days it take for neutrophils to recover to 500/uL between the two groups; the chi-square test will be used to analyze the difference in the incidence and severity of aGVHD symptoms between the two groups; the Mann-Whitney U test will be used to analyze the difference in the number of days of hospitalization between the two groups; and the generalized estimating equation will be used to analyze the differences in changes over time in cancer-related fatigue, hand grip strength, and lower limb muscle strength between the two groups.
- Conditions
- Hematologic Malignancies, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Resistance Training, Neutropenia, Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease, Cancer-related Fatigue
- Being tested
- 8-week Elastic Band Resistance Training Program
- Medical subject headings
- Hematologic Neoplasms, Neutropenia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
8-week Elastic Band Resistance Training ProgramBehavioural
Participants will perform a 45-minute elastic band resistance training session 3 times per week, starting 4 weeks before the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and continuing until 4 weeks after the transplant (total of 8 weeks).
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| control group | No intervention | Not described |
| Resistance Training Group | Experimental | Participants in this group will perform the 8-week elastic band resistance training program. Receives: Behavioral: 8-week Elastic Band Resistance Training Program |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Score on the Brief Fatigue Inventory - Taiwan Version (BFI-T) for Cancer-Related Fatigue
The Brief Fatigue Inventory - Taiwan Version (BFI-T) is a 9-item self-report questionnaire used to assess fatigue severity and its impact on daily functioning. Each item is rated on a 0 to 10 numerical rating scale. The global score is calculated as the mean of the 9 items, ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores indicate greater fatigue severity and greater fatigue interference with daily life.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes (3)
Hand Grip Strength Measured by Digital Hand Dynamometer
The grip strength of the dominant hand was measured three times and the average value was taken to assess the upper limb muscle strength.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Lower Limb Muscle Strength Assessed by 1-Minute Sit-to-Stand Test
this measure will be tested by 1-Minute Sit-to-Stand Test
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Number of Days to Neutrophil Recovery (ANC > 500/uL)
Monitor the Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) results above 500/uL
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 Oct 2026
- Study start12 Oct 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion31 May 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion31 May 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (101)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Hematologic MalignanciesStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 86 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan
- Sponsor type
- Other government
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Han-Wei Su, Principal investigator, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07872813
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2026-02-005B
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 2 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 14 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Publications
Zhao H, Cheng R, Song G, Teng J, Shen S, Fu X, Yan Y, Liu C. The Effect of Resistance Training on the Rehabilitation of Elderly Patients with Sarcopenia: A Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 22;19(23):15491. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315491.
PubMed 36497565Zhang H, Zheng X, Guo W, Xia Y, Zhang R, Zhai W, Chen X, Ma Q, Yang D, Wei J, Pang A, He Y, Feng S, Wang J, Han M, Jiang E. Outcomes of acute myeloid leukemia patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: validation, comparison and improvement of 2022 ELN genetic risk system. Exp Hematol Oncol. 2024 Feb 15;13(1):16. doi: 10.1186/s40164-024-00487-6.
PubMed 38360825Zhang H, Chen J, Que W. Allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell and bone marrow transplantation for hematologic malignancies: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Leuk Res. 2012 Apr;36(4):431-7. doi: 10.1016/j.leukres.2011.10.016. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
PubMed 22050904Zeiser R, Blazar BR. Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease - Biologic Process, Prevention, and Therapy. N Engl J Med. 2017 Nov 30;377(22):2167-2179. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1609337. No abstract available.
PubMed 29171820Yu J, Parasuraman S, Shah A, Weisdorf D. Mortality, length of stay and costs associated with acute graft-versus-host disease during hospitalization for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Curr Med Res Opin. 2019 Jun;35(6):983-988. doi: 10.1080/03007995.2018.1551193. Epub 2018 Dec 20.
PubMed 30461314Yasuda T. Selected Methods of Resistance Training for Prevention and Treatment of Sarcopenia. Cells. 2022 Apr 20;11(9):1389. doi: 10.3390/cells11091389.
PubMed 35563694Wolff D, Fatobene G, Rocha V, Kroger N, Flowers ME. Steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease: treatment options and patient management. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2021 Sep;56(9):2079-2087. doi: 10.1038/s41409-021-01389-5. Epub 2021 Jul 3.
PubMed 34218265Wiskemann J, Kuehl R, Dreger P, Huber G, Kleindienst N, Ulrich CM, Bohus M. Physical Exercise Training versus Relaxation in Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (PETRA Study) - Rationale and design of a randomized trial to evaluate a yearlong exercise intervention on overall survival and side-effects after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. BMC Cancer. 2015 Sep 7;15:619. doi: 10.1186/s12885-015-1631-0.
PubMed 26345187Wiskemann J, Kleindienst N, Kuehl R, Dreger P, Schwerdtfeger R, Bohus M. Effects of physical exercise on survival after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Int J Cancer. 2015 Dec 1;137(11):2749-56. doi: 10.1002/ijc.29633. Epub 2015 Jun 19.
PubMed 26061092Whiteley AE, Price TT, Cantelli G, Sipkins DA. Leukaemia: a model metastatic disease. Nat Rev Cancer. 2021 Jul;21(7):461-475. doi: 10.1038/s41568-021-00355-z. Epub 2021 May 5.
PubMed 33953370van Haren IEPM, Staal JB, Potting CM, Atsma F, Hoogeboom TJ, Blijlevens NMA, Nijhuis-van der Sanden MWG. Physical exercise prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A feasibility study. Physiother Theory Pract. 2018 Oct;34(10):747-756. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2018.1423655. Epub 2018 Jan 16.
PubMed 29336645Valdes-Badilla P, Guzman-Munoz E, Hernandez-Martinez J, Nunez-Espinosa C, Delgado-Floody P, Herrera-Valenzuela T, Branco BHM, Zapata-Bastias J, Nobari H. Effectiveness of elastic band training and group-based dance on physical-functional performance in older women with sarcopenia: a pilot study. BMC Public Health. 2023 Oct 27;23(1):2113. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-17014-7.
PubMed 37891589Ullrich CK, Baker KK, Carpenter PA, Flowers ME, Gooley T, Stevens S, Krakow EF, Oshima MU, Salit RB, Vo P, Connelly-Smith L, Lee SJ, Wood WA. Fatigue in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Survivors: Correlates, Care Team Communication, and Patient-Identified Mitigation Strategies. Transplant Cell Ther. 2023 Mar;29(3):200.e1-200.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.jtct.2022.11.030. Epub 2022 Dec 6.
PubMed 36494015Thandra KC, Barsouk A, Saginala K, Padala SA, Barsouk A, Rawla P. Epidemiology of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Med Sci (Basel). 2021 Jan 30;9(1):5. doi: 10.3390/medsci9010005.
PubMed 33573146Stricker PR, Faigenbaum AD, McCambridge TM; COUNCIL ON SPORTS MEDICINE AND FITNESS. Resistance Training for Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics. 2020 Jun;145(6):e20201011. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-1011.
PubMed 32457216