A new study on exercise in survivors of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer using the ExerciseRx app has received $1 million from the Washington State Andy Hill CARE Fund. The study will be led by co-principal investigators Sarah Psutka, MD, MSc, an associate professor in the Department of Urology, and Cindy Lin, MD, FACSM, FAAPMR, a clinical professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Endowed Professor in Sports and Exercise Medicine. Assistant Professors Hanna Hunter, MD, and Andrew Humbert, PhD are co-investigators.
The Andy Hill Cancer Research Endowment (CARE) Fund enables the State to appropriate a state match of up to $10 million annually to fund cancer research in Washington State.
The study, the EMPOWER TRIAL, will be a phase II randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating a scalable, personalized home-based activity intervention with ExerciseRx in survivors with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Some studies show that exercise and increased physical activity can improve the quality of life of NMIBC survivors. However, there isn’t enough data to evaluate this in the more than 58,000 Americans newly diagnosed with NMIBC annually.
This important study will evaluate feasibility, safety, and effects on fatigue, sleep, pain, anxiety, physical function, and quality of life. The aim is to improve cancer survivorship care with a scalable digital health tool that can be used as part of routine patient care without increasing treatment burden or cost.