Exercise for People with Cancer

Guideline Objective

• To provide guidance for clinicians with respect to exercise for patients living with cancer, specifically:
  • Benefits of specific types of exercise
  • Recommendation regarding pre-screening requirements for new referrals
  • Safety concerns
• To provide specific guidance around delivery models and exercise regimens for patients living with cancer at different points in the cancer journey.

Patient Population

Adult patients living with cancer, including those on active treatment and those who have completed treatment.

Intended Guideline Users

Oncologists, exercise consultants, primary care providers, and other members of the healthcare team, such as physiotherapists, kinesiologists, social workers, psychologists, nurses, and occupational therapists.

Research Question(s)

1. Does exercise improve domains of QoL compared to no prescribed amount of exercise in patients with a diagnosis of cancer?
2. Does exercise improve physical fitness (i.e., strength, VO2 or aerobic capacity, and objective measures of work done such as distance walked/sit to stand) compared to no prescribed amount of exercise in people with cancer?
3. Does exercise improve overall survival, disease-specific survival, disease-free survival or recurrence-free survival as compared to no prescribed amount of exercise in people with a cancer diagnosis?
4. What is the effect of exercise on people living with cancer in terms of safety, adverse events, or injuries?
5. Are there differential results or outcomes for different intensity levels of aerobic versus resistance types of exercise for people with cancer?
6. What delivery models are appropriate for patients with different types or stages of cancer? Delivery models will be separated into supervised, unsupervised, and combination.