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Published on: October 17, 2018
Exercise oncology during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Are virtually supervised exercise interventions a
Paola Gonzalo-Encabo1, Rebekah L Wilson1, Dong-Woo Kang1
1Division of Population Sciences, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Abstract:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, new challenges are presented in clinical research settings to increase exercise levels, particularly in vulnerable populations such as cancer survivors. While in-person supervised exercise is an effective format to improve patient-reported outcomes and physical function for cancer survivors, the COVID-19 pandemic limited this form of exercise as a feasible option within research and cancer care. As such, exercise oncology interventions were adapted to home-based instruction. In this review, we examine the current evidence of exercise interventions in cancer populations during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. We identified that group-based virtually supervised home-based exercise was the most used format among exercise oncology interventions during the pandemic. Preliminary results support feasibility and effectiveness of this emerging exercise setting in cancer survivors; however, it needs to be further investigated in adequately designed larger trials. Additionally, we provide recommendations and perspective for the implementation of virtually supervised home-based exercise.
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