Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan 1;117(1):9-19.
doi: 10.1093/jnci/djae177.

Exercise and Nutrition to Improve Cancer Treatment-Related Outcomes (ENICTO)

Kathryn H Schmitz  1 , Justin C Brown  2 , Melinda L Irwin  3 , Kim Robien  4 , Jessica M Scott  5 , Nathan A Berger  6 , Bette Caan  7 , Andrea Cercek  8 , Tracy E Crane  9 , Scott R Evans  10 , Jennifer A Ligibel  11 , Jeffrey A Meyerhardt  12 , Tanya Agurs-Collins  13 , Karen Basen-Engquist  14 , Jennifer W Bea  15 , Sheng F Cai  16 , Brenda Cartmel  3 , Vernon M Chinchilli  17 , Wendy Demark-Wahnefried  18 , Christina M Dieli-Conwright  19 , Loretta DiPietro  20 , Shawna E Doerksen  1 , Sharon L Edelstein  21 , Joanne Elena  13 , William Evans  22 , Leah M Ferrucci  23 , Julia Foldi  1 , Sarah Freylersythe  9 , Helena Furberg  24 , Lee W Jones  5 , Ross Levine  16 , Chaya S Moskowitz  24 , Cynthia Owusu  25 , Frank Penedo  26 , Borsika A Rabin  27 , Elena Ratner  28 , Margaret Rosenzweig  29 , Talya Salz  24 , Tara Sanft  30 , Matthew Schlumbrecht  31 , Guillaume Spielmann  32 , Cynthia A Thomson  33 , Ashley H Tjaden  21 , Martin R Weiser  34 , Shengping Yang  35 , Anthony F Yu  5 , Frank M Perna  13 ; ENICTO Consortium
Collaborators, Affiliations

Exercise and Nutrition to Improve Cancer Treatment-Related Outcomes (ENICTO)

Kathryn H Schmitz et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. .

Abstract

Chemotherapy treatment-related side effects are common and increase the risk of suboptimal outcomes. Exercise interventions during cancer treatment improve self-reported physical functioning, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, but it is unclear whether these interventions improve important clinical outcomes, such as chemotherapy relative dose intensity. The National Cancer Institute funded the Exercise and Nutrition to Improve Cancer Treatment-Related Outcomes (ENICTO) Consortium to address this knowledge gap. This article describes the mechanisms hypothesized to underpin intervention effects on clinically relevant treatment outcomes, briefly outlines each project's distinct research aims, summarizes the scope and organizational structure of ENICTO, and provides an overview of the integrated common data elements used to pursue research questions collectively. In addition, the article includes a description of consortium-wide activities and broader research community opportunities for collaborative research. Findings from the ENICTO Consortium have the potential to accelerate a paradigm shift in oncology care such that patients with cancer could receive exercise and nutrition programming as the standard of care in tandem with chemotherapy to improve relative dose intensity for a curative outcome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Sheng F. Cai was a consultant for and held equity interest in Imago Biosciences, none of which is directly related to the content of this article; is a consultant for Daiichi-Sankyo and Ursamin; was previously a consultant for Dava Oncology; and held equity interest in Imago Biosciences, none of which are directly related to the content of this article. Andrea Cercek received research funding from Seagan, GlaxoSmithKline and is a member of several advisory boards, including Merck, Seagen/Pfizer, Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, and AbbVie. Scott Evans received funding from Degruyter (editor in chief, Statistical Communications in Infectious Disease) and Taylor & Francis book royalties as well as consulting fees from Genentech, AstraZeneca, Takeda, Microbiotix, Johnson & Johnson, Endologiz, ChemoCentryx, Becton Dickenson, Atricure, Roivant, eovasc, Nobel Pharma, Horizon, International Drug Development Institute, SVB Leerink, Medtronic, Regeneron, Wake Forest University, Recor Janssen, and IDDI. He further received honoraria or travel funds from Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addition Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION); Liver Forum; and the Paris NASH meeting. Scott Evans received support for attending meetings from the US Food and Drug Administration and participated in the following data safety and monitoring boards or advisory boards: NIH, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Breast International Group, University of Pennsylvania, Washington University, Duke University, Roche, Pfizer, Takeda, Akouos, Apellis, Teva, Vir, DayOneBio, Alexion, Tracon, Rakuten, AbbVie, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, Nuvelution, Clover, FHI Clinical, Lung Biotech, SAB Biopharm, Advantagene, Candel, and Novartis. He reports leadership or fiduciary roles in other boards, societies, or committees (unpaid): American Statistical Association, Society for Clinical Trials, and Frontier Science Foundation. Lee W. Jones has stock ownership in Pacylex Inc and Illumisonics Inc. Ross Levine is on the supervisory board of Qiagen and is a scientific advisor to Loxo (until 2019), Imago, C4 Therapeutics, Mana, Auron, Ajax, Kurome, Mission Bio, Scorpion, and Isoplexis, each of which includes an equity interest. He receives research support from and consulted for Celgene and Roche; has received research support from Constellation, Roche, and Prelude Therapeutics; and has consulted for Bridge Therapeutics, BMS, Lilly, Incyte, Novartis, and Janssen. He has received honoraria from Astra Zeneca, Constellation, Lilly, and Amgen for invited lectures and from Gilead for grant reviews. Ross Levine reports honoraria, consultant fees, travel expenses, research support, stock shareholdership, or cash compensation from Novartis, Janssen, Incyte, Gilead, Lilly, Constellation, Bridge Therapeutics, BMS, Jubilant, Celgene, Qiagen, Imago, C4 Therapeutics, Isoplexis, Prelude Therapeutics, Zentalis, Mana, Auron, Ajax, Kurome, Mission Bio, Scorpion, Cure Breast Cancer Foundation, ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, Mark Foundation, Genome Canada, Syndax, Stelexis, Vida Ventures, Anovia, Bakx Tx, Bridge Bio, Bridge Medicines, Daiichi, Epiphanes, and MorphoSys AG. All other authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Organizational structure of the Exercise and Nutrition to Improve Treatment-Related Outcomes Consortium.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Standardized phenotyping and serial assessments across trials.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. National Cancer Institute. Exercise and Nutrition Interventions to Improve Cancer Treatment-Related Outcomes (ENICTO) in Cancer Survivors Consortium. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-CA-21-031.html. Accessed August 15, 2024.
    1. Fung C, Dinh P Jr, Ardeshir-Rouhani-Fard S, et al.Toxicities associated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy in long-term testicular cancer survivors. Adv Urol. 2018;2018:8671832. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mowls DS, Brame LS, Martinez SA, et al.Lifestyle behaviors among US cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv. 2016;10(4):692-698. - PubMed
    1. Campbell KL, Winters-Stone KM, Wiskemann J, et al.Exercise guidelines for cancer survivors: consensus statement from international multidisciplinary roundtable. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51(11):2375-2390. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schwedhelm C, Boeing H, Hoffmann G, et al.Effect of diet on mortality and cancer recurrence among cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Nutr Rev. 2016;74(12):737-748. - PMC - PubMed

Substances