Effect of the Exercise Program on Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Among Colorectal Cancer Patients Receiving Oxaliplatin

Abstract

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common adverse effect among patients with colorectal cancer receiving oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy, leading to functional impairment and reduced quality of life. Combined exercise interventions have been suggested as a potential strategy to prevent or alleviate the severity of CIPN. This quasi-experimental study with a two-group pretest–posttest design aimed to examine the effects of a combined exercise program on CIPN symptoms in patients with colorectal cancer treated with oxaliplatin. A total of 50 patients aged 20 years and older who received the XELOX regimen at the outpatient chemotherapy unit of Sisaket Hospital were recruited. Participants were matched by age and chemotherapy cycle and assigned to either an experimental group, which received the combined exercise program, or a control group, which received usual nursing care. Research instruments included a demographic and clinical data questionnaire, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire–Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 (EORTC QLQ-CIPN20), and validated exercise program materials. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
The results showed that the experimental group had significantly lower mean CIPN severity scores in sensory and motor domains compared with the control group (p < .001). Additionally, motor neuropathy symptoms significantly decreased after participation in the exercise program compared with baseline (p = .031), while no significant changes were observed in sensory or autonomic domains. These findings indicate that a combined exercise program is effective in reducing CIPN symptoms, particularly motor impairment, in colorectal cancer patients receiving oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy.