Advancing Cancer Research Closer to Home

At AdventHealth, we believe research is not separate from care. We believe the advancements made are what allow us to help our patients feel whole. That commitment is reflected in a new collaboration with CelLBxHealth to support two clinical studies, ACTION and SUNRISE, that are exploring how innovative technology and whole-person interventions can improve the cancer journey for patients.

Through the integration of CelLBxHealth’s Parsortix® platform, researchers will analyze circulating tumor cells from routine blood samples collected during cancer treatment. This minimally invasive approach offers an opportunity to learn more about how tumors change over time without requiring additional biopsies. By studying these blood-based markers alongside exercise interventions and other supportive care strategies, the research team hopes to gain a deeper understanding of treatment response, tolerance and quality of life.

The ACTION study, or Adaptive Randomization of Aerobic Exercise During Chemotherapy in Colon Cancer, is a multi-site, NIH-funded trial evaluating how different doses of aerobic exercise may influence how well patients tolerate chemotherapy. The SUNRISE study, or Statewide Unified Network for Remote Intervention of Strength and Exercise, is a digitally enabled trial focused on patients with gastrointestinal and lung cancers. Funded by the Florida Department of Health, SUNRISE is examining whether remotely delivered exercise interventions can improve chemotherapy tolerance and quality of life.

Together, these studies represent an important step forward in research that is both patient-centered and practical. For many patients, cancer care happens in community settings and often requires frequent travel, multiple appointments and ongoing monitoring. By combining remote interventions with simple blood-based diagnostics, this collaboration has the potential to reduce burden, support continuous insight into treatment response and bring advanced monitoring closer to where patients live.

For AdventHealth, that matters because better research leads to better patient care. The more we understand about how the body responds to treatment — and how supportive interventions like exercise may help patients tolerate therapy — the better equipped we are to care for the whole person, body, mind and spirit. This is the kind of research that can inform future care models, expand access to innovative approaches and support more personalized treatment decisions.

The partnership also underscores the vital role philanthropy plays in advancing discovery. Generous contributions through AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida helped make it possible to integrate this advanced technology into both studies. That support serves as a catalyst, accelerating research that improves the patient experience and expands access to innovative cancer care.

AdventHealth’s broad network of hospitals and outpatient facilities also creates a strong foundation for translating research into real-world practice. As these studies move forward, the collaboration with CelLBxHealth offers an opportunity to explore the clinical utility of circulating tumor cell analysis in a large integrated health system and to better understand how technologies like Parsortix® may support more effective, equitable care.

Ultimately, this collaboration reflects a shared goal: to bring innovation closer to patients and use research to inform care that is more personal, more accessible and more effective. At AdventHealth, we are proud to support work that helps uncover new insights and move cancer care forward for the people and communities we serve.