Physical Activity in Stage III Colon Cancer: CALGB/SWOG 80702 (Alliance).

To determine the specific types, durations, and intensities of recreational physical activity associated with the greatest improvements in disease-free survival (DFS) of patients with colon cancer. We conducted a prospective cohort study nested within a randomized multicenter trial of stage III colon cancer that compared 3 versus 6 months of fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin with or without celecoxib. We measured recreational physical activity in the first 3 months of chemotherapy and again 6 months after completion of chemotherapy. The primary end point was DFS. During a median follow-up of 5.9 years, 457 of 1,696 patients experienced disease recurrence or death. For total recreational physical activity volume, the 3-year DFS was 76.5% with < 3.0 metabolic equivalent task hours per week (MET-h/wk) and 87.1% with ≥ 18.0 MET-h/wk (risk difference [RD], 10.6%; 95% CI, 4.7 to 19.4; Among patients with stage III colon cancer enrolled in a trial of postoperative treatment, larger volumes of recreational physical activity, longer durations of light- to moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or any vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity were associated with the greatest improvements in DFS.