Baseline Characteristics of Participants in the Alberta Cancer Exercise Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Study: A Wake-Up Call for Action.

Alberta Cancer Exercise (ACE) is a hybrid effectiveness-implementation study evaluating a cancer-specific community-based exercise program across urban sites in Alberta, Canada. The purpose of this paper is to describe the baseline characteristics of participants. Adults with any type and stage of cancer, who were undergoing cancer treatment or up to three years post treatment completion, were eligible. ACE was delivered in person at 18 sites across 7 cities in Alberta, with video conferencing introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants took part in 60 min of mild-to-moderate intensity exercise twice weekly for a 12-week period and were encouraged to increase overall physical activity. From January 2017 to February 2023, 2570 individuals enrolled. Participants were a mean age of 57.8 years, 71.3% were female, 45.4% had breast cancer, and 49.4% were undergoing cancer treatment. At baseline, only 22.4% of participants self-reported meeting recommended physical activity levels, 66.0% were overweight/obese, and 71.4% reported one or more comorbidities. Most participants were below normative levels for the six-minute walk and 30 s sit-to-stand tests, and 75.9% reported fatigue. Participants were largely inactive, unfit, and symptomatic. ACE attracted more females and individuals with breast cancer but was otherwise representative of the Alberta cancer population.