A Simple Walking Program to Enhance Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy Delivery

A Simple Walking Program to Enhance Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy Delivery: A Randomized Trial

By utilizing fitness trackers, this study aims to demonstrate that a simple walking program improves patients' ability to tolerate curative concurrent chemoradiotherapy without treatment interruption.

Patients will be given a commercially available fitness tracker to wear continuously throughout the course of the study. Per this study's inclusion criteria, all patients will be treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy for a malignancy of the brain, head and neck region, lung, gastrointestinal tract, or cervix. Patients will be randomized to one of two arms: an experimental arm, where they will be instructed to meet a daily, customized step count goal, or a control arm where they will wear activity trackers but be given no specific instructions to increase their activity levels. Patients in the experimental arm who fail to meet their step count goal for three consecutive days will be contacted by a study coordinator and reminded to try to meet the activity goals. If the patient reports that his or her activity is limited by treatment-related toxicities, the patient's treating physicians will be notified to ensure that supportive care needs are being met. With such a program, this study aims to demonstrate the potential to improve patients' ability to tolerate curative concurrent chemoradiotherapy without treatment interruption.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age > 18
• ECOG performance status 0-2
• Able to ambulate independently (without the assistance of a cane or walker)
• Diagnosis of invasive malignancy of the brain, head and neck region, lung, gastrointestinal tract, or uterine cervix
• Planned treatment with fractionated (≥15 treatments) external beam radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy (or cetuximab) with curative intent (including preoperative or postoperative treatment)
• Women of childbearing potential must:
• Have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test within 72 hours prior to the start of study therapy
• Agree to utilize an adequate method of contraception throughout treatment and for at least 4 weeks after study therapy is completed
• Be advised of the importance of avoiding pregnancy during trial participation and the potential risks of an unintentional pregnancy.
• All patients must sign study specific informed consent prior to study entry.