(ANSA) – SASSARI, OCTOBER 17 – Every year in Italy there are almost 10 thousand new diagnoses of head and neck cancer, according to the Airtum 2020 report, of which 7,300 males and 2,600 females, ranking fifth in Italy in terms of frequency. It is a form of tumor that affects the mouth, throat, larynx (vocal cords), pharynx, and which, precisely because of the locations in which it occurs, represents not only a clinical but also an important social problem, due to the delicacy of the functions of the compromised organs and for the impact it has on patients’ social lives.
The therapeutic approach for head and neck cancers can be surgical or radio/chemotherapeutic, with a 5-year survival expectancy from diagnosis of 57% in males and 58% in women. The Medical Oncology Operational Unit of the Irccs Maugeri Pavia, under the guidance of Professor Laura Locati, has started a research project financed with Pnrr funds which also involves the University Hospital of Sassari, the Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo, Cnao and the Pascale Cancer Institute of Naples.
The object of the study is to verify how personalized physical activity supervised by a kinesiologist expert in preventive physical activity, associated with nutritional and psychological support, influences the response to therapies in patients with head and neck cancer who are candidates for curative surgical and chemo-radiotherapy treatment .
This is the first study of this type in Italy, which involves personalized physical activity based on the patient’s clinical characteristics, carried out within the gyms made available by Ircc Maugeri Pavia and supervised by a dedicated kinesiologist. The project, which will last two years, plans to enroll a total of 30 patients who are candidates for surgery and 30 with an indication for chemo-radiotherapy treatment, who have received a diagnosis of curable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck district. The enrolled patients will undergo pre-qualification in the structures participating in the project and will then be treated in their respective hospitals of origin.
In this way, explains Professor Locati, “we want to investigate the effectiveness of pre-habilitation paths on reducing the intensity of the side effects of treatments and on the better response of the immune system to therapies”. The approach marks a paradigm shift: “if once it was thought that the patient had to stay at rest to arrive at the surgical procedure in the best physical conditions, today – clarifies the researcher – we know that this result is obtained with adequate physical and psychological preparation that puts the patient in a position to respond best to therapies”. (HANDLE).