The Effects of a 12 Week Home-based Exercise Intervention on Physical Performance in Patients With Cancers of the Gastrointestinal Tract With Pre- Cachexia or Cachexia

This is an interventional supportive care trial for Cachexia focused on measuring Cachexia, Weight Loss, Exercise, Gastrointestinal Cancer Read More

Inclusion Criteria:

• Have a primary diagnosis of colorectal, esophageal, gastric, pancreatic or biliary tract cancer and plans to initiate systemic chemotherapy within the next 4 weeks after enrollment.
• Have been diagnosed as having an advanced unresectable cancer with no plans for surgical intervention during the active study period (12 weeks).
• Have an ECOG performance score of 0 or 1.
• Have a life expectancy of >3 months as determined by their primary oncologist.
• Have experienced at least 2% weight loss of the patient's reported previous body weight over the 6 months prior to enrollment. Patients who have 2 - 4.9% weight loss should also have one of the following metabolic changes: a hemoglobin level <13, an albumin level <3.5, and/or impaired glucose tolerance within the past year such as a new diagnosis of diabetes, an A1C level >5.7, a random glucose level >200 or a fasting glucose level >100.
• Have permission from primary oncologist to engage in low to moderate intensity exercise regimen.
• Be able to read English (since the assessment materials are in printed format).
• Be able to give written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have any of the following limitations: unable to walk the 4 meters of the SPPB test, wheel-chair bound, unable to perform low-to-moderate intensity exercise regimen (patients unable to perform 6 minute walk or stair climb test will be allowed to participate, but will be held out of these measurements).
• Have had major surgery (excluding diagnostic procedures like laparoscopy, EGD/EUS, esophageal stent placement) in the past 4 weeks.
• Be experiencing dysphagia that requires enteral or parenteral feeding for nutrition.
• Be enrolled on hospice at time of consent.
• Be engaged in an active exercise routine by being identified as in the Active or Maintenance Stage of exercise behavior as assessed by the 1-item Exercise Stages of Change Short Form (40).