Physical activity and sport can benefit children and adolescents with cancer, even during intensive phases of treatment. A review has shown that such activities are harmless and have no negative effects.
Cancer and its treatments place a heavy burden on the bodies and minds of children and adolescents. In addition, young people are torn away from their social and sporting activities, which are important for their healthy development.
The good news: physical activity is possible even during cancer treatment, and experience shows it has a positive impact on children and adolescents. Previous individual studies had already suggested that movement-based games help reduce fatigue, improve fitness, and, above all, enhance the well-being of young patients.
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Exercise is safe and feasible
Researchers from the SPOG Centre in St. Gallen and several European countries sought to investigate this in more detail. They analysed the scientific studies published to date on physical activity during cancer treatment in children and adolescents. 21 studies met the researchers’ criteria. The conclusion: exercise during cancer treatment is safe and feasible when it is adapted to the individual condition of the patient. (1)
Most studies also reported improved fitness, reduced fatigue, and a better quality of life in young people affected by cancer. However, most of the studies were too small, and the patients as well as the exercise therapies too varied, to allow for definitive conclusions. The overall trend is however promising.
Balloons flying through the ward
In Germany, the “ActiveOncoKids” network has been offering playful and individualised exercise programmes for young people with cancer since 2012. Exercise therapy is also part of standard care in some Swiss clinics that treat children and adolescents with cancer.
Anyone who has seen young, hospitalised cancer patients playing with balloons, skittles, or shuttlecocks – and heard their laughter – knows how important movement and play are for their well-being.
References
1. Nadja Battanta, Krystyna Lange, Sabine V. Kesting, Daniela Marx-Berger, Philip Heesen, Hannah Ober, Aron Onerup, Saskia M. F. Pluijm, Eva Scheler, Emma J. Verwaaijen, Katrin Scheinemann and Maria Otth. Supervised Physical Activity Interventions in Children and Adolescents with Cancer Undergoing Treatment—A Systematic Review. Oncol. 2025, 32, 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32040234 (in bold: researchers from the SPOG Centre in St. Gallen)
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Brigitte Casanova
Brigitte Casanova supports SPOG communication projects; as a Germanist, she complements the science-oriented team at the Coordination Center.
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