Exercise Helps Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation Preserve Swallowing Functions

Cancer patients receiving radiation are less likely to need a feeding tube or suffer unwanted side effects if they perform swallowing exercise during the therapy.

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered that cancer patients receiving radiation can avoid side effects such as narrowing of throat passage or worsening of diet and can do without a feeding tube by simply following the prescribed swallowing exercises during therapy called the 'swallow preservation protocol'.

The study led by Dr. Marliene Wang, a member of the Jonsson Cancer Center, was conducted from 2007-2012. Patients receiving chemo radiation most often suffer side effects such as dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), which is the most common and unwanted side effects of chemo radiation.

 This study assessed the protocol in patients who followed the swallow therapy during, before and after the radiation treatment. The effectiveness of the protocol was measured based on the person's ability to swallow and how the therapy affected their diet. They checked when the patient needed feeding tube or whether there was any narrowing of the throat.

The participants were given assessments about their swallowing ability two weeks before their treatment. They were briefed about the side effects the treatment causes and were introduced to the swallowing exercise program.

Out of the 85 participants aged between 22 and 92, nearly 57 followed the protocol and 28 didn't.  Sixty six participants were men and 19 were women. The researchers noticed that the swallow preservation exercise before and after the radiation treatment helped maintained the patient's ability to swallow. Those who followed the exercise returned quickly to their normal diet and had reduced incidences of throat stenosis.

"Our results demonstrate that compliance with swallow therapy during radiation or chemo radiation treatment is beneficial to patients' retaining their ability to swallow after treatment is over," Wang said. "The real benefit of this compliance is that patients benefit immediately after treatment and for a prolonged time afterward. Attending our weekly program, fully committing to the exercises and being monitored by our staff appears to have a significantly measurable effect for these patients."

The study appears in the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.