Chemo Brain Prehab Project

Summary

Colorectal cancer is 37% higher in the North West than the national average and is treated by chemotherapy, including fluorouracil, capecitabine, and oxaliplatin. A side effect of these drugs is loss of memory, forgetfulness, and general brain fog, which can persist for months after the end of treatment. These symptoms are collectively known as 'chemo-brain'. An existing prehabilitation intervention that has been previously developed will be used, which increases fitness and reduces hospital length of stay in colorectal cancer surgery patients, to try to improve the symptoms of chemo-brain in those undergoing chemotherapy and improve quality of life.

Conditions

• Colorectal Cancer
• Older Adults (60 - 85 Years Old)
• Physically Inactive
• Chemotherapy

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Exercise Prehabilitation

The prehabilitation group will be asked to undertake a remote exercise programme. The home-based exercise sessions will take place four times per week. Two will be unsupervised exercise sessions, and the other two will be online supervised exercise sessions. Each session will last for approximately 40 minutes for a minimum of 3 weeks, a maximum of 4 weeks. Exercise tolerance will be built up from 2 supervised sessions (week 1) up to the recommended four sessions per week (week 3/4). The number of sessions will be sustained throughout chemotherapy until the end of chemotherapy (visit 3). The participants will be remotely supervised by a qualified exercise instructor. They will have a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise within each session. It will be individualised and tailored to their physical abilities. The exercises will target their upper body (arms and shoulders) and legs. Exercise programmes, videos, and links to supervised sessions will be provided.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Multivitamins

Multivitamins will be given following the first testing visit until the third visit (following the last chemotherapy round). The multivitamins will be taken daily before and during chemotherapy. The multivitamin supplement contains a combination of 24 essential vitamins (vitamin A, D2, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, E, Biotin, nicotinamide, pantothenic acid and folic acid), minerals and trace elements (calcium, iron, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iodine, manganese, selenium, chromium, and molybdenum). Each multivitamin and mineral plays a vital role in the efficient daily maintenance of many body processes.

OTHER

Standard Care (in control arm)

Participants with colorectal cancer will receive chemotherapy treatment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Dr. Chris Gaffney

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Max Age

85 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-01-30

Primary Completion

2027-09-16

Completion

2027-09-16

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations