DOI: 10.5061/dryad.w6m905qzp
title: Physical activity is associated with exercise capacity among patients undergoing chemotherapy: a pilot randomized controlled trial

description: Exercise intolerance is common among cancer patients undergoing active
 treatments.\ We conducted a pilot study in patients receiving potentially
 cardiotoxic therapies to investigate the\ impact of participation in a
 6-month physical activity intervention (PAI) versus a healthy lifestyle\
 education control intervention (HLI) on accelerometer-derived measures of
 PA (steps/day or minutes\ of moderate to vigorous PA [MVPA]/week) and
 whether these measures were associated with\ submaximal exercise capacity
 (6-minute walk distance [6MWD]). Participants with breast\ cancer or
 lymphoma (n=33) were randomized (2:1) into PAI or HLI groups. Exercise
 training was\ patient-centered, tailored to treatment and functional
 status. Objective assessments of PA (steps/day,\ MVPA/week), and
 submaximal exercise capacity (6MWD) were completed at baseline, 3-, and
 6-\ months. Separate linear mixed-effects regression models examined
 changes in 6MWD, controlling\ for baseline values, a treatment group x
 time interaction, steps/day, or MVPA. At baseline,\ 27 participants in the
 PAI (n=20) and HLI (n=7) groups who completed baseline and at least 1
 follow\ up visit, had a mean age of 53 ±17 vs 57 ±13 years, took on
 average 8,330 ±2520 vs 7800 ±3830\ steps/day, did an average of 133 ±44 vs
 109 ±87 minutes of MVPA/week, and had a mean 6MWD of\ 496 ±94 vs 440 ±18
 meters, respectively. Models adjusted for baseline values did not show
 any\ difference in 6MWD by intervention group or time. Further, no
 significant differences in steps/day or\ MVPA mins/week were found between
 groups over time. A post-hoc correlation analysis did find\ significant
 associations between both steps/day (r=0.51, p=.04) and MVPA mins/week
 (r=0.48,\ p≤.05) and 6MWD at 6-months. Baseline data indicate that, on
 average, our study\ sample was close to meeting the PA guidelines.
 Unexpectedly, both groups maintained their activity\ levels up to 3- and
 6-months. Submaximal exercise capacity (6MWD) was also maintained (with a\
 clinically meaningful but not statistically significant relative benefit
 in the PAI) suggesting higher PA\ levels may associate with reduced
 exercise intolerance after anthracycline therapy.
description: # Physical activity is associated with exercise capacity among patients
 undergoing chemotherapy: a pilot randomized controlled trial Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.w6m905qzp](10.5061/dryad.w6m905qzp) ## Description of the
 data and file structure Participants who were between 18 to 85 years of
 age, diagnosed with stage I-IV Hodgkin’s or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or
 stage I–III breast cancer, were recruited to a 6-month exercise
 intervention study. Data were collected at baseline, 3, and 6 months.  ###
 Files and variables #### File: PLOS_data_8.13.25.csv **Description:** 
 ##### Variables * pid: participant identification  * age: age in years *
 race: race (White vs. non White) * sex: Female or Male * visit: baseline,
 3 months, and 6 months * arm: PAI, physical activity intervention. HLI,
 Healthy Living Intervention * smwd: Six-minute walk distance *
 daily_steps: Steps per day as measured with accelerometry, * weekly_mvpa:
 Moderate to vigorous physical activity in minutes per week. * max_rvo2:
 Maximal Relative Volume of Oxygen (VO2) consumption * ef_percent: Ejection
 Fraction (%) ## Code/software R/RStudio software was used to analyze this
 data and can be downloaded for free. The following packages were used in
 the analysis: library(tidyverse) library(table1) library(Hmisc)
 library(emmeans) library(easystats) library(sjPlot) library(ggstance)
 library(broom) library(modelsummary) library(lme4) library(ggpubr)
 library(PerformanceAnalytics) ## Access information Other publicly
 accessible locations of the data: * None Data was derived from the
 following sources: * NA ## Human subjects data Direct identifiers (e.g.,
 names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers)
 have been removed from the uploaded data. Indirect Identifiers and
 potentially identifying information like demographic data (age, gender,
 race, ethnicity), geographic information, dates, and other variables that
 could be combined to re-identify individuals have been suppressed or are
 not part of the analytic dataset.