Skip to Main Content

Stepping It Up to Improve RT Outcomes

Stepping It Up to Improve RT Outcomes

By: Emily T. Connelly

Dr. Nitin Ohri smiling in his lab coat
Dr. Nitin Ohri in a race number at a race
Dr. Nitin Ohri speaking at a race

Dr. Nitin Ohri's research explores the use of fitness trackers during cancer treatment.

"Why aren't we using fitness trackers to help keep our patients more active?" wondered radiation oncologist Nitin Ohri, MD, MS, following a conversation with a colleague about her wearable device at a charity spinning event. "She had probably taken more steps than all of her patients combined, as she was training for a marathon. The concept of counting steps to improve the health of patients receiving radiation therapy was something I wanted to pursue immediately," says Dr. Ohri.

Dr. Ohri and his team at the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and Albert Einstein College of Medicine worked quickly to establish a pilot study to test the feasibility of tracking patients' steps during concurrent chemoradiotherapy for head and neck, lung or gastrointestinal cancers. The results were published in the Red Journal, and the analyses suggested that step counts could serve as dynamic predictors of short-term hospitalization risk during chemoradiotherapy. "I consider step counts to be a new vital sign for cancer treatment," says Dr. Ohri. "I think it should be routine to ask patients about how much they walk."

An active and enterprising researcher, Dr. Ohri wanted to know more and to find out if physical activity could be used as a treatment as well as a vital sign. In 2016, he applied for and was awarded nearly $50,000 from the Radiation Oncology Institute's (ROI) Innovative Projects in Radiation Oncology program to conduct a randomized trial to determine if giving patients daily customized step-count goals as measured and guided through activity trackers could improve patients' ability to tolerate concurrent chemoradiotherapy. "The ROI's quick turnaround time from application to funding allowed us to be one of the first groups to explore the use of activity trackers during cancer treatment, which has so much potential for rapid growth," says Dr. Ohri.

In the study, each patient receives a Garmin Vivofit® activity tracker to wear throughout his or her standard course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Patients' activity data is automatically collected when they pass by one of the Vivohub wireless access clients that have been stalled at key points in the Cancer Center. Dr. Ohri and his team are giving patients in the experimental arm of the study customized daily stepcount goals, which are based on data from the previous days and displayed on their activity trackers.

The team hopes to show that a simple exercise program can improve outcomes for patients by reducing the number of treatments they miss, decreasing treatment-related toxicities and improving their quality of life. If the results of the study are positive, implementing a similar program could be an easy and relatively low-cost supportive-care measure that almost any clinician could incorporate into his or her practice. Dr. Ohri says that his team has received positive responses from patients participating in the study and that "some of the patients really appreciate the extra level of care that they are getting from having us follow their progress between visits."

Some of the initial results of Dr. Ohri's study were recently featured as an issue highlight in the Red Journal. They demonstrated that among 50 patients with locally advanced, non-small cell lung cancer, step counts prior to starting treatment could help predict their outcomes. "Our study shows that people who are inactive for their age will have a significantly more difficult time with radiation therapy. They are more likely to end up in the hospital, experience treatment delays and disease recurrence, and are less likely to survive. This is valuable information worth considering when making treatment decisions."

Dr. Ohri's pioneering work, made possible through the generosity of ROI donors, recognizes the promise of using familiar technologies in a new way to enhance the care of radiation therapy patients. For updates on Dr. Ohri's ongoing trial, be sure to follow the ROI on Facebook and Twitter.

To learn how your gift to the ROI enables us to continue groundbreaking research like Dr. Ohri's and benefit cancer patients' lives, please contact Janet L. Hedrick at 703-839-7340 or roi@astro.org.

Personal Estate Planning Kit Request Form

Please provide the following information to view the materials for planning your estate.

First name is required
Last Name is required
Please include an '@' in the email address