NCT06292975

Brief Summary

This is a single arm feasibility study of exercise for improving short- course neoadjuvant radiotherapy efficacy in people diagnosed with locally advanced rectal cancer. The study aims to recruit up to 30 patients from the Queen's Centre for Oncology and Haematology of Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, diagnosed with locally advanced rectal cancer. Consenting patient's will be provided with a 7 weeks course of structured aerobic exercises and resistance training in the periods before, during and after their radiotherapy treatment. The patients will be followed up for 6 months post short course neoadjuvant radiotherapy, with a total of 3 assessment periods.

Trial Health

30
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Timeline
Completed

Started Sep 2024

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
withdrawn

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 2, 2024

Completed
1 month until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 5, 2024

Completed
7 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

September 17, 2024

Completed
1.4 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

February 17, 2026

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 17, 2026

Completed
Last Updated

March 6, 2026

Status Verified

March 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

1.4 years

First QC Date

February 2, 2024

Last Update Submit

March 4, 2026

Conditions

Keywords

ExerciseRadiotherapyVigorous intensity aerobic interval exerciseTreatment efficacy.Locally advanced rectal cancer

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

  • Recruitment rate

    The number of recruited participants/ total number of patients approached in percentage.

    This will be monitored in the total 6months of participants engagement if the study

  • Attendance rate

    The number of supervised exercise sessions attended/ total number of available supervised exercise sessions in percentage.

    This will be monitored in the total 6months of participants engagement if the study

  • withdrawal rate

    The number of participants who drop out of study/ total number of recruited participants in percentage.

    This will be monitored in the total 6months of participants engagement if the study

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • Serum Carcinoembryonic antigen levels

    up to 4 weeks before neoadjuvant radiotherapy (NART), immediately following radiotherapy and 6-months following NART

  • Quality of life assessment

    up to 4 weeks before NART, up to 1 week post NART and 6-months following NART

  • EORTC-QLQ-CR29 version 2.1 questionnaire for Quality of life assessment

    up to 4 weeks before NART, up to 1 week post NART and 6-months following NART

  • Physical activity levels

    up to 4 weeks before NART, up to 1 week post NART and 6-months following NART

Study Arms (1)

single arm

EXPERIMENTAL

This study involves a single arm only. Therefore all consenting participants will receive the exercise intervention detailed in the protocol. The exercise interventions include an 7-week aerobic and resistance training delivered 2-weeks before chemoradiotherapy commences , in the 1-week of radiotherapy and 4 weeks following chemoradiotherapy. 2-days Aerobic exercise will be delivered on vigorous intensity on a cycle ergometer. This will be under the supervision of a trained physiotherapist. 2-days Resistance training will be home based with guidance of an exercise sheet.

Other: Supervised Vigorous intensity aerobic interval exercise

Interventions

7-weeks course of aerobic and resistance exercise, delivered 2 weeks before neoadjuvant radiotherapy (NART), 1 week of NART and 4 weeks post NART.

Also known as: Unsupervised resistance exercise
single arm

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • years or older
  • Have been diagnosed with locally advanced rectal cancer using MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and histological finding,
  • Have been offered short-course neoadjuvant radiotherapy in the Queens Centre, Castle Hill Hospital
  • Willing and able to comply with all study requirements
  • Able and willing to voluntarily give informed consent to take part.

You may not qualify if:

  • Inability to understand basic written and spoken English, as research materials will all be written in English.
  • Any movement deficiencies limiting ability to engage in exercise.
  • Impaired cognition and/or capacity limiting ability to provide informed consent.
  • Cardiovascular and/or cardiopulmonary conditions that will impede ability to safely perform exercise.
  • Severe psychiatric disorders.
  • With any other health condition which oncologists and research team agrees will impede ability to safely perform exercises.
  • Presence of metastatic cancer.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Castle Hill Hospital

Hull, East Yorkshire, HU16 5JQ, United Kingdom

Location

Related Publications (5)

  • Moug SJ, Mutrie N, Barry SJE, Mackay G, Steele RJC, Boachie C, Buchan C, Anderson AS. Prehabilitation is feasible in patients with rectal cancer undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and may minimize physical deterioration: results from the REx trial. Colorectal Dis. 2019 May;21(5):548-562. doi: 10.1111/codi.14560. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

  • Loughney L, West MA, Moyses H, Bates A, Kemp GJ, Hawkins L, Varkonyi-Sepp J, Burke S, Barben CP, Calverley PM, Cox T, Palmer DH, Mythen MG, Grocott MPW, Jack S; Fit4Surgery group. The effects of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and an in-hospital exercise training programme on physical fitness and quality of life in locally advanced rectal cancer patients: a randomised controlled trial (The EMPOWER Trial). Perioper Med (Lond). 2021 Jun 22;10(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s13741-021-00190-8.

  • Alejo LB, Pagola-Aldazabal I, Fiuza-Luces C, Huerga D, de Torres MV, Verdugo AS, Ortega Solano MJ, Felipe JL, Lucia A, Ruiz-Casado A. Exercise prehabilitation program for patients under neoadjuvant treatment for rectal cancer: A pilot study. J Cancer Res Ther. 2019 Jan-Mar;15(1):20-25. doi: 10.4103/jcrt.JCRT_30_17.

  • Dwyer CP, Moses A, Rogers FM, Casey D, Joyce R, Hynes SM. A qualitative investigation of reasoning behind decisions to decline participation in a research intervention: A study-within-a-trial. J Health Psychol. 2023 Mar;28(4):374-387. doi: 10.1177/13591053211037736. Epub 2021 Aug 6.

  • Chen T, Zhu H, Su Q. Effectiveness and Safety of Four Aerobic Exercise Intensity Prescription Techniques in Rehabilitation Training for Patients with Coronary Heart Disease. Cardiol Res Pract. 2022 Jul 15;2022:1647809. doi: 10.1155/2022/1647809. eCollection 2022.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

  • John Saxton

    University of Hull

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
0

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NA
Masking
NONE
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Model Details: Feasibility study
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 2, 2024

First Posted

March 5, 2024

Study Start

September 17, 2024

Primary Completion

February 17, 2026

Study Completion

February 17, 2026

Last Updated

March 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

No Individual participant data will be made available to other researchers. Anonymised data from the study group will be available for auditing.

Locations