Feasibility of a home-based exercise intervention with remote guidance for patients with stable grade II and III gliomas: a pilot randomized controlled trial

In this pilot study, we investigated the feasibility of a home-based, remotely guided exercise intervention for patients with gliomas. Pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with randomization (2:1) to exercise or control group. Patients with stable grade II and III gliomas. The six-month intervention included three home-based exercise sessions per week at 60%-85% of maximum heart rate. Participants wore heart rate monitors connected to an online platform to record activities that were monitored weekly by the physiotherapist. 2peak (by maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing) and body mass index (BMI) at baseline and at six-month follow-up. 2peak (+158.9 mL/min; 95% CI: -44.8 to 362.5) and BMI (-0.3 kg/m²; 95% CI: -0.9 to 0.2). The median increase in physical activity was 1489 metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes higher in the exercise group. The most reported reasons for non-participation were lack of motivation or time. This innovative and intensive home-based exercise intervention was feasible in a small subset of patients with stable gliomas who were interested in exercising. The observed effects suggest that the programme may improve cardiorespiratory fitness. These results support the need for large-scale trials of exercise interventions in brain tumour patients