Objectively measured physical activity during chemotherapy in colon cancer patients

Abstract

Purpose Although adjuvant chemotherapy can have an impact on physical activity (PA), PA level has not been studied in patients with stage II-III colon cancer. This study investigated PA levels during and between chemotherapy cycles. Methods We objectively measured PA levels for 2 weeks during the 2nd and 11th chemotherapy cycles. In addition, self-reported PA levels were assessed before chemotherapy initiation, during 2nd, 6th, and 12th chemotherapy cycles. This study included 22 men and 33 women with stage II-III colon cancer patients (57 +/- 9 years). Results Before the initiation of chemotherapy, most cancer patients were minimally active. Compared with the 1st week of chemotherapy, moderate- and light-intensity PA levels significantly increased during the 2nd week of chemotherapy. Patients increased moderate- and light-intensity PA from 217.4 to 290.3 min per week and from 585.7 to 657.8 min per week, respectively (p < 0.01). PA levels did not show any difference between the 2nd and 12th cycles when objectively measured, or between baseline and 2nd, 6th, and 12th cycles when self-reported. Conclusion PA levels during chemotherapy cycles are initially low, and then increase towards the end of the cycle; however, PA levels do not change between chemotherapy cycles. Future work with broader and larger samples size is recommended.