Table 2 The positive effects of exercise in colorectal cancer survivors

Ligibel (2012)

237 patients

stage I–III CRC survivors

180 min of moderate-intensity physical activity

Survivors enrolled in a multicenter, telephonebased physical activity intervention increased physical activity and experienced significant improvements in fitness and physical functioning

[90]

Cheville (2013)

66 patients

Stage IV CRC survivors

8 weeks incremental walking and home-based strength training

A home-based exercise program seems capable of improving the mobility, fatigue, and sleep quality of patients with Stage IV lung and colorectal cancer

[91]

Chung (2013)

431 pateints

Mean age of 58 years old

Strenuous, moderate and mild physical activity

Survivorswho were older or received chemotherapy increased their total PA and mild intensity PA after the completion of treatment

[79]

Sellar (2013)

888 pateitns

stage II or III CRC survivors

12-week supervised exercise intervention

Exercise training was found to be feasible and improved many aspects of health related physical fitness in CRC survivors that may be associated with improved quality of life and survival in these individuals

[81]

Courneya et al. (2014)

250 patients

High-risk stage II or stage III CRC survivors

A three-year exercise program

The Colon Health and Life- Long Exercise Change (CHALLENGE) trial was proven to be effective as a randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of an exercise program on disease-free survival

[92]

Grimmett (2015)

29 patients

Patietns over 18 years old who had recently completed treatment within the last 6 months

12 week intervention for increasing physical activity

Meaningful improvement in quality of life was observed

[86]

Husson (2015)

6446 patients

Mean age of 71 years, stage I–III CRC survivors

Physical activities including walking, bicycling, gardening, housekeeping, and sports

Pateitns with PA have higher on the global quality of life, physical, role, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning over time

Finding underlines the importance to focus upon training in survivorship care and strategies to get inactive cancer survivors physically active

[93]

Courneya (2016)

273 patients

High-risk stage II and

III colon cancer survivors

Gradually increase recreational PA from baseline by 10 MET hours/week

The behavior change intervention produced a substantial increase in selfreported recreational PA that met the feasibility criterion for trial continuation, resulted in objective fitness improvements, and is consistent with the amount of PA associated with improved colon cancer outcomes in observational studies

[94]

Grote (2016)

11 patients

N/A

Blended aerobic and resistance training (CART) three days per week for 13 weeks

The study revealed a close relationship between CART and cancer survivors’ cardiometabolic health

After 13 weeks of training, participants experienced an average decrease in waist circumference

Decrease in waist circumference was associated with a decrease in CRP

[95]

Fisher et al. (2016)

495 patients

Patients who were between 6 months and 5 years post-diagnosis with non-metastasised disease

Post-diagnosis PA

The findings indicated the benefits of PA following cancer treatment, while also identifying barriers to effective implementation

[96]

Cantarero-Villanueva (2017)

46 patients

older than 18 years, stage II–III CRC survivors

Lumbopelvic Exercise Program

PA improves musculoskeletal conditions in the lumbopelvic area of CRC patients, specifically in terms of pain and internal oblique thickness

[97]

Chen et al. (2017)

116 pateitns

Elderly patients prepared for CRC surgery

Four-week trimodal rehabilitation program

The results indicated that the trimodal rehabilitation program had a positive effect on levels of PA, as well as on functional walking ability

The results indicate the potential to improve PA and physical function among elderly cancer patients

[98]

Forbes et al. (2017)

95 patients

N/A

Internet-delivered,

distance-based PA

The Internet-based program was proven to have a negative impact on cancer survivors’ motivation

[99]

Brown (2016 and 2017, 2018)

39 patients

Stage I–III CRC survivors

150 min/wk of aerobic exercise (low dose) and 300 min/wk of aerobic exercise (high dose) for 6 months

Aerobic exercise reduces visceral adipose tissue in dose–response fashion among patients with stage I–III CRC

Visceral adipose tissue may be a mechanism through which exercise reduces the risk of disease recurrence among CRC survivors

[100,101,102]

Devin (2016 and 2018)

47 patients

Post-treatment CRC survivors

4 weeks of moderate intensity exercise (MIE) and high intensity exercise (HIE) training

In response to short-term training, HIE is a safe, feasible and efficacious intervention that offers clinically meaningful improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition for colorectal cancer survivors

[83, 103]