The Effect of Personalized Exercise Interventions for the Prevention of Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating and common side effect of neurotoxic cancer treatment. The most frequent symptoms include sensory disturbances and weakness in the hands and/or feet. CIPN can interfere with both daily activities and cancer treatment itself. Although there is proof of concept for physical activity as a preventive measure for CIPN, physical activity is currently not included in the international evidence-based guideline for the prevention of CIPN due to the need of larger sample-sized definitive studies. The aim of this project is, on the one hand, to investigate the preventive effect of an exercise program based on international physical activity guidelines on CIPN symptoms in patients with breast or colorectal cancer undergoing taxane- or platinum-based chemotherapy. On the other hand, the study will also explore how patients and healthcare professionals experience the implementation of physical activity during this phase of therapy. A prospective randomized controlled trial will be conducted, with CIPN symptoms as the primary outcome measure.