Physical exercise during chemotherapy is not only safe, but helps to prevent declines in cardiorespiratory fitness and to facilitate a faster return to normal daily activities, compared with waiting until after chemotherapy is completed, the prospective ACT trial showed.
Among 266 patients with mostly breast, testicular, or colon cancer who were randomized to a 24-week exercise intervention either during or after chemotherapy, peak oxygen uptake declined significantly from baseline to post-chemotherapy in both groups, but this decline was less pronounced in those who exercised during chemotherapy (adjusted between-group difference 3.1 mL/kg/min, 95% CI 2.2-4.0, PJA0.001),a>