Clinical trial · Interventional
Chemo Brain Prehab Project
Chemo Brain Prehab Project: Improving Brain Health After Chemotherapy Through Prehabilitation
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 10, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260910-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
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
Conditions (4)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemotherapy | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Colorectal Cancer | Malignant Colorectal Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.80 |
| Older Adults (60 - 85 Years Old) | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Physically Inactive | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (3)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise Prehabilitation | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Multivitamins | Dietary Supplement | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Standard Care (in control arm) | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Prehabilitation group
- description
- This group will receive the exercise programme before and during chemotherapy (4 times per week; 2 supervised online home-based sessions and 2 unsupervised home-based sessions), with the addition of daily multivitamins and behavioural support via a weekly telephone check-up.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Exercise Prehabilitation
- Dietary Supplement: Multivitamins
- Other: Standard Care (in control arm)
- type
- OTHER
- label
- Standard Care Group
- description
- This group will receive their treatment as planned as part of standard care, but will not receive the prehabilitation (exercise, nutrition, and behavioural support).
- interventionNames
- Other: Standard Care (in control arm)
Primary outcomes (5)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 60 Years
- Maximum age
- 85 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Individuals with stage II or III colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy with fluorouracil, capecitabine, or oxaliplatin. * Aged 60-85 years old. * Fluent in English * Male and female participants * Not engaged in structured exercise training\* within the six months before providing consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of comorbidities that may significantly alter the metabolic response to exercise (e.g., diabetes mellitus). * Any contraindication to the multivitamin supplementation (Forceval), including known hypercalcaemia, haemochromatosis, peanut or soya allergy, current use of phenytoin or tetracycline antibiotics, and clinically significant impaired renal or hepatic function. * Evidence of pre-existing cognitive impairment, including diagnosis of dementia, other neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's disease), or clinically indicated mild cognitive impairment. * Diagnosis of atrial fibrillation and haematological malignancy. * Participants without home internet access will be excluded due to the online delivery of the exercise programme. * Diagnosis of profound hearing loss. * Receiving palliative care. * Presence of synchronous cancer. * Structured exercise refers to planned and organised physical activity, such as gym workouts, exercise classes or a team sport, which are designed to improve or maintain physical fitness, often with instruction, rules, and goals.
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDHoad KL, Ton C, Williamson D, Subar DA, Nuttall HE, Gaffney CJ. The role of prehabilitation in improving brain health and cognition after chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer: Study protocol of the Chemo Brain Prehab Project. PLoS One. 2026 Mar 3;21(3):e0341996. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0341996. eCollection 2026. PMID 41774738