An interventional study of 8-week Elastic Band Resistance Training Program in Hematologic Malignancies, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Resistance Training, sponsored by Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Taiwan. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-14.
Sponsored by Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
This study investigates whether a resistance training program can help patients recovering from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematologic malignancies.
HSCT is a vital treatment, but it comes with a high risk of severe complications. These include opportunistic infections caused by low white blood cell counts (neutropenia) and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), where donor cells attack the patient's body. Additionally, more than half of patients suffered from severe cancer-related fatigue during or after transplantation, which significantly lowers their quality of life. Currently, treatments for these complications rely almost entirely on medication.
The purpose of this study is to see if an 8-week elastic band resistance training program can speed up blood cell recovery, reduce the severity of aGVHD, shorten hospital stays, and alleviate cancer-related fatigue.
A total of 86 patients preparing for HSCT at Taipei Veterans General Hospital will be randomly assigned to one of two groups:
The study will compare the two groups by measuring how many days it takes for white blood cells to recover, the occurrence and severity of aGVHD, muscle strength (hand grip and lower limbs), fatigue levels, and the total length of hospital stays.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an important treatment option for hematologic malignancies, and survival rates have been improving year by year with medical advancements. However, the risk of post-transplant complications is also high, among which opportunistic infections caused by neutropenia and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) pose the most significant risks. If inappropriate treatment is provided in the acute phase, it will damage normal tissues, leading to early onset of chronic diseases and potentially increasing mortality. Currently, the treatment for neutropenia and aGVHD is limited to drug therapy. In addition, more than half of patients experience cancer-related fatigue during or after transplantation which cause bad quality of life. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of resistance training programs during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in improving blood cell recovery rate, aGVHD severity, shortening hospital stay, and reducing cancer-related fatigue. An experimental study design is adopted, and enrollment will be conducted at the hematologic oncology ward and bone marrow transplant center in Taipei Veteran General Hospital to facilitate sampling. 86 eligible patients with hematologic malignancies about to receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation will be recruited and randomly assigned to a resistance training group (43 patients) and a routine care control group (43 patients). Patients in the resistance training group will receive resistance training intervention starting four weeks before transplantation until the fourth week after transplantation, for a total of eight weeks, with 45 minutes of elastic band resistance training three times a week. The control group will receive routine care. The data we need to collect includes basic personal information (pre-transformation only), the number of days after transplantation when neutrophils recover to 500/uL, the occurrence and grade of aGVHD (limited to allogeneic stem cell transplantation patients), hand grip strength and lower limb muscle strength, and fatigue levels. The chi-square test and independent samples t-test will be used to examine the homogeneity of demographic and disease characteristics between the two groups; survival analysis will be used to analyze the difference in the number of days it take for neutrophils to recover to 500/uL between the two groups; the chi-square test will be used to analyze the difference in the incidence and severity of aGVHD symptoms between the two groups; the Mann-Whitney U test will be used to analyze the difference in the number of days of hospitalization between the two groups; and the generalized estimating equation will be used to analyze the differences in changes over time in cancer-related fatigue, hand grip strength, and lower limb muscle strength between the two groups.
1,494 studies on the registry are indexed under Hematologic Neoplasms; 438 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 86 is above the median of 45 across 1,090 interventional studies indexed under Hematologic Neoplasms.
Browse Hematologic Neoplasms studies →Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan is the lead sponsor of 338 studies on the registry; 74 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Participants in this group will perform the 8-week elastic band resistance training program.
Behavioral: 8-week Elastic Band Resistance Training Program
Participants will perform a 45-minute elastic band resistance training session 3 times per week, starting 4 weeks before the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and continuing until 4 weeks after the transplant (total of 8 weeks).
Score on the Brief Fatigue Inventory - Taiwan Version (BFI-T) for Cancer-Related Fatigue
The Brief Fatigue Inventory - Taiwan Version (BFI-T) is a 9-item self-report questionnaire used to assess fatigue severity and its impact on daily functioning. Each item is rated on a 0 to 10 numerical rating scale. The global score is calculated as the mean of the 9 items, ranging from 0 to 10. Higher scores indicate greater fatigue severity and greater fatigue interference with daily life.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Hand Grip Strength Measured by Digital Hand Dynamometer
The grip strength of the dominant hand was measured three times and the average value was taken to assess the upper limb muscle strength.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Lower Limb Muscle Strength Assessed by 1-Minute Sit-to-Stand Test
this measure will be tested by 1-Minute Sit-to-Stand Test
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Number of Days to Neutrophil Recovery (ANC > 500/uL)
Monitor the Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) results above 500/uL
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Incidence and Severity of Acute Graft Versus Host Disease
Incidence and severity of aGVHD within three months after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 3 months
Hospital Length of Stay
Time frame: From date of transplantation until the date of hospital discharge, assessed up to 8 weeks
Percentage of Prescribed Exercise Time Completed by Participants
Adherence rate will be calculated as the percentage of prescribed exercise time completed by each participant: \[Adherence Rate (%)\] = \[Total Actual Exercise Duration (minutes)/ \[Total Prescribed Exercise Duration (minutes)\] \* 100%.
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks
Plan to share: Undecided
Start is estimated for Oct 2026; primary completion for May 2028, 19 months later.
Of 178 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Hematologic Neoplasms, half reached primary completion within 40 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 21 and three quarters within 146. This study's planned 19 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 183 studies reached it within 41 months; a quarter within 22 and three quarters within 146.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan →