Exercise improved adjuvant treatment completion rates and treatment-related toxicities in colorectal cancer: A prospective pilot study

Abstract Background The primary aim of this study was to investigate the beneficial effect of exercise on completion rates of adjuvant treatment, which is one of the major prognostic factors among patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer after undergoing curative resection followed by adjuvant treatment. Methods We assigned patients who were scheduled to undergo adjuvant treatment (N = 39) to the exercise group or the control group in a 2:1 ratio in the order of enrollment. Patients completed questionnaires and underwent assessment of the outcome variables at the start of chemotherapy and upon completion of treatment. Results A five-fold lower possibility of dose adjustment in the exercise group compared to the control group was demonstrated (odds ratio, 0.188; P = 0.023; 95% confidence interval, 0.044–0.793). A significantly smaller proportion of the exercise group had grade 3 or 4 nausea (P = 0.018) and neurotoxicity (P = 0.024) symptoms. Muscle to fat ratios were significantly reduced in the control group (P = 0.039), but not in the exercise group (P = 0.742). Serum levels of leptin were significantly increased in the control group (P = 0.038), but not in the exercise group (P = 0.073). Serum levels of adiponectin were significantly increased in the exercise group (P = 0.026) but tended to be decreased in the control group with no statistical significance (P = 0.418). Conclusions Exercise training among patients with colorectal cancer was found to have a beneficial impact on adjuvant treatment completion rates and treatment-associated toxicities. This program was also shown to be beneficial to patients’ body compositions and serum levels of adipokines. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.