The AIGLE project
In recent years, cancer treatments have made significant strides, particularly through the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. These advances have extended the life expectancy of many patients. However, these treatments still have limitations: they are not always effective in the long term and can cause severe side effects. Hence the need to find innovative, complementary solutions.
Among these, physical activity (PA) is attracting increasing attention. Already known for its positive effects on fatigue and quality of life, it could also slow the progression of certain tumors and enhance the effectiveness of treatments, as shown by animal studies. However, the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood, and the actual benefits in humans need to be confirmed by research.
This is where the AIGLE project comes in, exploring a novel idea: combining physical exercise with immunochemotherapy. This shift in perspective aims to transform physical activity—traditionally viewed merely as a means of supporting well-being—into a genuine therapeutic ally.
To test this approach, the AIGLE project brings together specialists from various fields—medicine, biology, exercise physiology, and sociology—in a transdisciplinary approach. The project combines laboratory research with clinical studies involving cancer patients. At the same time, social science researchers are simultaneously focusing on:
- the lived experience of patients and how they perceive the impact of exercise on their lives and their condition
- how professionals view this new form of Adapted Physical Activity
This work will be essential for designing tailored programs and preparing a future large-scale clinical trial, co-developed with patients.
Project leaders:
Claire PERRIN
Professor Claire Perrin is a sociologist specializing in Adapted Physical Activity and Health at the Laboratoire sur les Vulnérabilités et l’Innovation dans le Sport (L-ViS, UR 7428) at Lyon 1 Université. She co-leads the “Health and Society” research axis at MSH Lyon St Etienne. Her work focuses on the integration of adapted physical activity into care and health pathways—viewed as specific intervention areas linked to emerging professional roles—and examines how this contributes to reshaping normative frameworks within the medical field.
She contributed to the 2019 Inserm collective expert report on “Activité physique – Prévention et traitement des maladies chroniques” to the Directorate General for Health (DGS) initiatives regarding the implementation of physical activity prescriptions for patients with long-term conditions (ALD), and to the French National Authority for Health (HAS) work on developing a methodological guide for prescribing physical activity. She co-directs the “Cancer, Body, and Social Sciences” seminar (2023–25) and supervises several research projects on adapted physical activity (APA) in oncology, conducted in partnership with the Centre Léon Bérard (CLB).
Béatrice FERVERS
Professor Béatrice Fervers (MD, PhD, HDR, oncologist and epidemiologist, U1296 INSERM), heads the Environmental Cancer Prevention Department of the Centre Léon Bérard (CLB). Its interdisciplinary research aims to better understand the environmental causes of cancers and to act on risk factors in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. In particular, she conducts innovative interventional studies on physical exercise in patients with cancer, studying its effects on treatments and care trajectories.
Béatrice Fervers also coordinates the CANCEPT National Transdisciplinary Research Network on Primary Cancer Prevention, which was accredited and funded by the Institut national du cancer (INCa) in 2022. She is a member of the Conseil scientifique du Cancéropôle CLARA, where she also coordinates the Prevention and Social Innovation College. She serves as Vice-Chair of the Ethics Committee at the Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer (CIRC) and is a member of numerous national and international scientific committees and boards in her field.
