Exercise as a Disease-Modifying Therapy in Colon Cancer: Practice-Changing Evidence from the CHALLENGE Trial
- Study type
- Review article
- Study name
- CHALLENGE
- Design
- Narrative/integrative review of clinical, epidemiological and translational evidence focusing on the phase 3 CHALLENGE trial
- Source
- Cancers · 2026
In plain words
This review article shows that in people with colon cancer who have completed surgery and chemotherapy after surgery, a structured 3-year exercise programme in the CHALLENGE trial was linked to better survival. Alongside standard treatments, exercise can help lower the risk of the cancer coming back and of death. Be sure to agree the right type and amount of exercise with your own doctor and treatment team.
Key results
Treatment arms and regimens
A structured physical activity programme for 3 years after completion of standard adjuvant chemotherapy. Details of dose and schedule in the full paper.
Source of the regimen details: Abstract of the paper
Doses are given for the information of specialists, as in this study’s protocol, and are not a prescription. Every drug must be prescribed by the treating physician for the individual patient.
Study population
Patients with resected stage 3 or high-risk stage 2 colon cancer who had completed adjuvant chemotherapy (based on the description of the CHALLENGE trial in the abstract).
Endpoints
Outcomes reported in the abstract: disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in the CHALLENGE trial.
Safety and side effects
No information on adverse events is reported in the abstract.
Clinical significance and place in guidelines
Based on the CHALLENGE trial, the author argues that exercise should move from an optional supportive recommendation to a part of multidisciplinary care pathways after adjuvant therapy, with its type, dose and duration specified. This article is a review and reflects the author's view; the status of the recommendation in formal clinical guidelines should be checked separately.
Limitations
This article is a review, not a primary trial; the abstract gives no information on patient numbers, the control group, confidence intervals, adverse events or exact details of the exercise programme. For these, see the full paper and the main report of the CHALLENGE trial.
This summary was prepared by the editorial team from the published paper; the original paper is the final reference. Read the original abstract on PubMed.