Purpose: Detailed reporting of individually tailored exercise prescriptions (ExRx) used in clinical trials is essential to describe feasibility, tolerability, and efficacy of the intervention and to inform translation to clinical care. This paper outlines the methodology used to develop a resistance training (RT) ExRx for people with colon cancer receiving chemotherapy and reports adherence to the randomized controlled trial testing the impact of RT on relative dose intensity of chemotherapy and patient-reported toxicities.
Methods: Participants randomized to the exercise arm (n = 90) were included. To promote muscle hypertrophy, the ExRx was twice-weekly, moderate to heavy loads (65-85% 1-RM), high sets (3-5), and intermediate repetitions (6-10) of five large multi-joint movements with adjustable dumbbells. Attendance (achieved frequency) and adherence (achieved volume) were calculated. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify clusters of individuals with similar adherence patterns and compared baseline characteristics across adherence groups.
Results: The median attendance was 69.1%. Adherence was 60.6%, but higher for those receiving 3 versus 6 months of chemotherapy (80.4 vs. 47.4%; p < 0.05). Participants engaged in a median of 1.4 days of RT each week, lifting 62% of the 1-RM load, for 3.0 sets and 7.5 repetitions per set. Three distinct adherence groups were identified: 13% "non-starter", 37% "tapered off", and 50% "consistent exercisers". Females were more likely to be in the "non-starter" and "tapered off" groups.
Conclusions: This paper outlines suggested methods for reporting ExRx of RT in oncology clinical trials and provides insight into the tolerance of ExRx of RT during chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer. These findings aim to foster constructive dialogue, and offer a premise for designing future research to elucidate the benefits of exercise during chemotherapy.
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