Trial results for the EXERCISING TOGETHER for Couples Coping With Cancer study, involving patients with Breast Cancer and Colorectal Carcinoma, were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2025-07-01. The trial enrolled 496 participants to investigate dyadic coping.
Background
Coping with a cancer diagnosis, such as Breast Cancer or Colorectal Carcinoma, can significantly impact both patients and their partners. Support systems and shared activities, like exercise, are often explored for their potential to improve psychological well-being and relational dynamics during treatment and recovery. This trial investigated different exercise approaches to understand their effects on dyadic coping among couples facing cancer.
Trial design
The Exercising Together trial was a single-blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled study with an overall status of COMPLETED. It enrolled 496 participants. The study included patients with conditions such as Anatomic Stage I Breast Cancer AJCC v8, Anatomic Stage II Breast Cancer AJCC v8, Anatomic Stage III Breast Cancer AJCC v8, Breast Carcinoma, and Colorectal Carcinoma. The trial compared three arms over a 6-month training period followed by a 6-month observation: Arm 1 involved couples performing partnered exercise in a supervised, group setting; Arm 2 had survivors and partners perform exercise routines separately in a supervised group setting; and Arm 3 involved unsupervised exercise at home.
Key results
The trial reported several key measurements for 'Dyadic Coping - Active Engagement' (score on a scale per 6 months):
- For Arm I (Supervised Exercise Together), mean scores were -0.45, -0.35, 0.05, and -0.52.
- For Arm II (Supervised Exercise Separately), mean scores were 0.81, -0.61, -0.08, and -0.14.
- For Arm III (Unsupervised Exercise Separately), mean scores were 0.07, -0.08, -0.91, and -0.35.
What this means
The reported mean scores for 'Dyadic Coping - Active Engagement' across the three exercise arms provide initial data on how different exercise modalities might influence couples coping with cancer. Without further statistical analysis or context regarding the significance of these score changes, specific clinical recommendations cannot be drawn. However, the study contributes to understanding the impact of partnered versus individual exercise, and supervised versus unsupervised settings, on the psychological aspect of coping for patients with Breast Cancer and Colorectal Carcinoma and their partners.
Source
The information for these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT03630354, titled 'EXERCISING TOGETHER for Couples Coping With Cancer', were posted on 2025-07-01 on clinicaltrials.gov.