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. 2024 Oct 10;12(1):131-142.
doi: 10.1093/nop/npae093. eCollection 2025 Feb.

The feasibility of a multi-site, clinic-supported, and tailored neuro-oncology exercise program

Julia T Daun  1 , Lauren C Capozzi  1   2 , Tana Dhruva  1 , Gloria Roldan Urgoiti  3 , Meghan H McDonough  1 , Emma McLaughlin  1 , Mannat Bansal  1 , Allan Brett  1 , Jacob C Easaw  4 , Margaret L McNeely  5   6 , George J Francis  2   7 , Tanya Williamson  1 , Jessica Danyluk  1 , Paula A Ospina  5 , Christine Lesiuk  3 , Paula de Robles  3 , Catriona Leckie  3 , S Nicole Culos-Reed  1   7   8
Affiliations

The feasibility of a multi-site, clinic-supported, and tailored neuro-oncology exercise program

Julia T Daun et al. Neurooncol Pract. .

Abstract

Background: To address the lack of access to supportive cancer care resources, the purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of a tailored exercise program for neuro-oncology patients.

Methods: Patients with a primary brain tumor diagnosis, >18 years, and able to consent in English were recruited at 2 tertiary cancer centers in Alberta. Recruitment occurred via the electronic medical record as well as self-referral. A 12-week, tailored exercise intervention with health coaching was delivered in both one-on-one and group-based formats, either in-person or online. Measures of feasibility included tracking referral, enrollment, intervention completion and adherence, measurement completion, fidelity, participant satisfaction, and safety. Participant-reported outcomes and functional fitness were assessed at baseline and 12 weeks. Objective physical activity was tracked via a Garmin activity tracker.

Results: Recruitment occurred between April 2021-December 2022. N = 70 patients enrolled in the study and n = 51 completed the intervention. The referral rate was 31%, the enrollment rate was 66%, and intervention completion and adherence rates were 82.3% and 89.7%. At baseline and 12 weeks, measurement completion rates were 100% and 77.4% for patient-reported outcomes, and 98.4% and 75.8% for functional fitness. The average wear-time for the activity tracker was 72.8%. Fidelity of intervention delivery was 100% for exercise sessions and 87.8% for health coaching. Overall participant satisfaction was 86.5%. No major and 4 minor adverse events occurred.

Conclusions: Delivery of a tailored neuro-oncology exercise program with referral included via the electronic medical record is feasible. Future work is needed to optimize tailored programming as well as to address factors critical for implementation into standard cancer care.

Clinical trials registration: NCT04831190 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04831190).

Keywords: exercise; exercise oncology; feasibility; implementation; neuro-oncology.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Participant flow and key feasibility statistics.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The ACE-neuro exercise prescription: frequency, intensity, time, type (and format) results. Based on the n = 51 that completed the intervention. *Rating of Perceived Effort/Exertion (RPE). Self-reported by participants using the Borg Perceived Exertion Scale (1998). For one-on-one sessions, RPE was collected only for the main circuit for 29 participants and for 22 participants for each of the warm-up, main circuit, and cool-down components of sessions. For group sessions, RPE was collected only for the main circuit for 19 participants and for 8 participants for each of the warm-up, main circuit, and cool-down components of sessions.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Distribution of average hours worn per day across participants. Based on the n = 51 who completed the intervention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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