Overview
- The Phase II results, published Monday in the journal Cancer, report that a home-based exercise plan improved attention during chemotherapy.
- Researchers randomized 86 patients for six weeks into four groups that paired or separated a low-dose ibuprofen pill with EXCAP, a low-to-moderate walking and resistance program that was safe to do at home.
- Exercise delivered the most consistent gains, including better scores on attention tasks, while ibuprofen produced smaller, less steady benefits.
- The ibuprofen groups performed worse on a short-term verbal memory test, even as exercise groups reported fewer remarks from family or coworkers about cognitive slips.
- The team stresses the small, short study is preliminary and advises patients to consult clinicians as larger trials test longer programs and drug dosing.