August 19, 2025JNCI Monographs1 citationsOpen Access
View Full PaperThe multidisciplinary community of exercise oncology practice: current status and future directions
Key Points
- Incorporating exercise in oncology care can improve cancer outcomes and reduce treatment-related side effects.
- Current practices in exercise advice reveal inconsistencies among oncology professionals and highlight areas for improvement.
- Enhancing provider education and expanding community-based programs are essential to fully integrate exercise in cancer treatment.
- Addressing reimbursement policies will help establish exercise as a standard practice within oncology care.
Abstract
Exercise is recommended as a part of standard cancer care, based upon its favorable impact on treatment-related side effects and its association with better cancer outcomes. Fully incorporating exercise into oncology practice will require multidisciplinary efforts across oncology and exercise professionals. This article examines current patterns of exercise advice and prescription in oncology settings and highlights the roles of oncology clinicians, physiatrists, physical and occupational therapists, exercise physiologists and fitness trainers, and patient advocates in expanding exercise oncology across the cancer continuum. Future efforts to enhance provider education, expand community-based programs, establish referral pathways, and address policy challenges related to reimbursement will be needed to establish exercise as a universally accessible and effective component of oncology care.