NCT03975491: EXACT

The Exercise And Colorectal Cancer Treatment Trial

Active, enrolled NA Results posted Last updated 22 September 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Exercise in Colon Cancer in 60 participants. Participants enrolled and being followed up; not accepting new ones.

Timeline

1 August 2019

Primary endpoint
1 May 2023

1 January 2026

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Phase	NA
Status	Active, enrolled
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	double
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	60
Start date	1 August 2019
Primary completion	1 May 2023
Estimated completion	1 January 2026
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Exercise
• Wait-List Control

Conditions studied

• Colon Cancer — all drugs for Colon Cancer →
• Rectal Cancer — all drugs for Rectal Cancer →

Sponsor

Pennington Biomedical Research Center — full company profile →

Who can join

18 and older, any sex, with Colon Cancer or Rectal Cancer. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.

The Percentage Change in High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein Primary · Baseline, 12 weeks

Group	Value	95% CI
Exercise	12.8	-13.1 – 46.3
Control	-6.7	-28.9 – 22.4

The Percentage Change in Interleukin-6 Primary · Baseline, 12 weeks

Group	Value	95% CI
Exercise	-15.0	-25.4 – -3.2
Control	-5.4	-17.0 – 7.9

The Percentage Change in Soluble Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha Receptor Two Secondary · Baseline, 12 weeks

Group	Value	95% CI
Exercise	-2.1	-9.3 – 5.7
Control	1.6	-6.2 – 10.0

The Change in Circulating Tumor Cells Per mL Whole Blood Secondary · Baseline, 12 weeks

Group	Value	95% CI
Aerobic Exercise	-0.02	-0.56 – 0.52
Control	-0.61	-1.36 – 0.14

The Percentage Change in Circulating Tumor DNA (Relative to All Cell-free DNA) Secondary · Baseline, 12 weeks

Group	Value	95% CI
Exercise	0.0011	-0.0009 – 0.0031
Control	0.0006	-0.0015 – 0.0027

Sponsor's own description

This study will examine the biologic processes through which exercise may prevent disease recurrence in patients who have completed treatment for colorectal cancer.

Publications & conference data

8 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Physical Activity Reduces the Risk of Recurrence and Mortality in Cancer Patients.
   Brown JC, Gilmore LA. · · 2020 · cited 48× · PMID 31913187 · DOI 10.1249/jes.0000000000000214
2. Preventive Cardio-Oncology: The Time Has Come.
   Brown SA. · · 2019 · cited 35× · PMID 31998754 · DOI 10.3389/fcvm.2019.00187
3. The dose-response effect of aerobic exercise on inflammation in colon cancer survivors.
   Brown JC, Compton SLE, Meyerhardt JA, Spielmann G, et al · · 2023 · cited 14× · PMID 38148846 · DOI 10.3389/fonc.2023.1257767
4. Editorial: Inflammation and chronic disease.
   Orlando FA, Mainous AG. · · 2024 · cited 9× · PMID 39015780 · DOI 10.3389/fmed.2024.1434533
5. Liquid biopsies for colorectal cancer: a narrative review of ongoing clinical trials and the current use of this technology at a comprehensive cancer center.
   Broccard SP, Kasbi AA, Bagaria SP, Jones J, et al · · 2022 · cited 8× · PMID 35284120 · DOI 10.21037/jgo-21-470
6. Effects of exercise on inflammation, circulating tumor cells, and circulating tumor DNA in colorectal cancer.
   Brown JC, Compton SLE, Kang A, Jayaraman A, et al · · 2025 · cited 5× · PMID 40107449 · DOI 10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101036
7. A randomized trial of aerobic exercise in colorectal cancer: Rationale, design, recruitment, and exercise adherence results.
   Compton SLE, Yang S, Maniscalco LS, Muhsen RA, et al · · 2024 · cited 2× · PMID 39362405 · DOI 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107702
8. Effects of aerobic exercise on body composition and exerkines in colorectal cancer survivors.
   Cho E, Chodzko M, Compton SLE, Yang S, et al · · 2025 · PMID 40642656 · DOI 10.3389/fspor.2025.1579221