Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29329555›Full record

ArticleTrials2018

Exercise during and after neoadjuvant rectal cancer treatment (the EXERT trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Andria R Morielli, Nawaid Usmani, Normand G Boulé, Diane Severin, Keith Tankel, Tirath Nijjar, Kurian Joseph, Alysa Fairchild, Kerry S Courneya

2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Trials, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03082495 nacompletednot on this map

A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial of Aerobic Exercise in Rectal Cancer Patients During and After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of AlbertaRan2017 to 2020Enrolled36ConditionsRectal CancerArmsExercise
NCT07453173 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

A Pilot, Single-Arm, Prospective Study Assessing Feasibility and Safety of a Supervised Progressive Resistance Training Program During Total NeoadjuvantTherapy (RAPIDO) Until Surgery in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

TypeinterventionalSponsorFundacion Arturo Lopez PerezRan2026 to 2027Enrolled15ConditionsLocally Advanced Rectal CancerArmsStrength training program
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Pooled it
  5. Experiences of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer participating in a supervised exercise intervention during chemotherapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
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  12. Effect of exercise on colorectal cancer prevention and treatment.World journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2019
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Andria R MorielliFaculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, 1-113 University Hall, Van Vliet Complex, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H9, Canada.
Nawaid UsmaniDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta and Cross Cancer Institute, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Normand G BouléFaculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, 1-113 University Hall, Van Vliet Complex, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H9, Canada.
Diane SeverinDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta and Cross Cancer Institute, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Keith TankelDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta and Cross Cancer Institute, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Tirath NijjarDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta and Cross Cancer Institute, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Kurian JosephDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta and Cross Cancer Institute, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Alysa FairchildDepartment of Oncology, University of Alberta and Cross Cancer Institute, 11560 University Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1Z2, Canada.
Kerry S CourneyaFaculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, 1-113 University Hall, Van Vliet Complex, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H9, Canada. Kerry.courneya@ualberta.ca.
University of Alberta · CA

Funding

Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute 704680
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStandard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer includes 5-6 weeks of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) followed by total mesorectal excision 6-8 weeks later. NACRT improves local disease control and surgical outcomes but also causes side effects including fatigue, diarrhea, hand-foot syndrome, and physical deconditioning that may impede quality of life (QoL), treatment completion, treatment response, and long-term prognosis. Interventions to improve treatment outcomes and manage side effects that are safe, tolerable and low-cost are highly desirable. Exercise has been shown to improve some of these outcomes in other cancer patient groups but no study to date has examined the potential benefits (and harms) of exercise training during and after NACRT for rectal cancer. METHODS/

designThe Exercise During and After Neoadjuvant Rectal Cancer Treatment (EXERT) trial is a single-center, prospective, two-armed, phase II randomized controlled trial designed to test the preliminary efficacy of exercise training in this clinical setting and to further evaluate its feasibility and safety. Participants will be 60 rectal cancer patients scheduled to receive long-course NACRT followed by total mesorectal excision. Participants will be randomly assigned to exercise training or usual care. Participants in the exercise training group will be asked to complete three supervised, high-intensity interval training sessions/week during NACRT and ≥ 150 min/week of unsupervised, moderate-to-vigorous-intensity, continuous exercise training after NACRT prior to surgery. Participants in the usual care group will be asked not to increase their exercise from baseline. Assessments will be completed pre NACRT, post NACRT, and pre surgery. The primary endpoint will be cardiorespiratory fitness (VO DISCUSSION: If the preliminary findings of EXERT are positive, additional research will be warranted to confirm whether exercise is an innovative treatment to maintain QoL, manage side effects, and/or improve treatment outcomes in rectal cancer patients.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03082495 . Registered on 9 February, 2017.

Indexed as

ChemoradiotherapyExerciseClinical Trials, Phase II as TopicData AnalysisFemaleHumansMaleMotivationNeoadjuvant TherapyOutcome Assessment, Health CareProspective StudiesRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRectal NeoplasmsSample SizeCancerExercisePhysical activityPhysical fitnessQuality of lifeSymptom management

Identifiers

PMID29329555
PMCPMC5767015
OpenAlexW2783093298

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.