Yang L, Liu XP, Deng XM. Effects of tailored exercise on glycemic and nutritional outcomes in diabetic patients with colorectal cancer and on chemotherapy. World J Diabetes 2025; 16(11): 111008 [DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i11.111008]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Xiao-Meng Deng, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical University, No. 3 Workers’ New Village, Xinghualing District, Taiyuan 030013, Shanxi Province, China. 15234263312@163.com
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Endocrinology & Metabolism
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Retrospective Study
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Nov 15, 2025 (publication date) through Nov 14, 2025
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World Journal of Diabetes
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1948-9358
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Yang L, Liu XP, Deng XM. Effects of tailored exercise on glycemic and nutritional outcomes in diabetic patients with colorectal cancer and on chemotherapy. World J Diabetes 2025; 16(11): 111008 [DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i11.111008]
World J Diabetes. Nov 15, 2025; 16(11): 111008 Published online Nov 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i11.111008
Effects of tailored exercise on glycemic and nutritional outcomes in diabetic patients with colorectal cancer and on chemotherapy
Lin Yang, Xian-Ping Liu, Xiao-Meng Deng
Lin Yang, Xiao-Meng Deng, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030013, Shanxi Province, China
Xian-Ping Liu, Endoscopic Ward, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030013, Shanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Yang L designed the experiments and conducted clinical data collection; Liu XP performed postoperative follow-up and recorded the data, conducted the collation and statistical analysis; Yang L and Deng XM make critical revisions to important knowledge content; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical University, No. KY2023141.
Informed consent statement: The Ethics Committee of Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical University agreed to waive informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Meng Deng, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital/Shanxi Hospital Affiliated to Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shanxi Medical University, No. 3 Workers’ New Village, Xinghualing District, Taiyuan 030013, Shanxi Province, China. 15234263312@163.com
Received: July 4, 2025 Revised: August 5, 2025 Accepted: October 22, 2025 Published online: November 15, 2025 Processing time: 132 Days and 19.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed malignancy worldwide and a frequent comorbidity among these patients is type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The coexistence of these conditions poses significant challenges to glycemic management, particularly during chemotherapy.
AIM
To assess the effects of individualized exercise training (IET) on glycemic control and nutritional status in patients with T2DM undergoing chemotherapy for CRC.
METHODS
In this retrospective study, clinical data from 245 patients with T2DM and on chemotherapy for CRC between November 2023 and December 2024 were analyzed. Patients were stratified into two groups according to their treatment regimens: The standard care (SC) group (n = 111), which received conventional chemotherapy and diabetes management, and an IET group (n = 134), which received additional personalized exercise interventions alongside SC. Parameters assessed included fasting plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, glycemic variability indices, nutritional biomarkers, markers of intestinal permeability, and adverse events.
RESULTS
Patients in the IET group demonstrated significant improvements in glycemic control, nutritional biomarkers, and glycemic variability (all P < 0.05), compared with the SC group. The markers of intestinal permeability also improved significantly in the IET group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse events was found between the two groups (P > 0.05). These findings suggest that individualized exercise interventions can enhance metabolic, nutritional, and gastrointestinal outcomes without increasing treatment-related risks.
CONCLUSION
Personalized exercise training may offer clinically meaningful benefits in glycemic regulation and nutritional status for patients with T2DM and on chemotherapy for CRC.
Core Tip: Managing glycemic control and nutritional status is challenging in colorectal cancer patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus undergoing chemotherapy. This retrospective study demonstrates that adding personalized exercise training to standard care significantly improves glycemic control (reduced fasting plasma glucose, postprandial glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and variability), enhances nutritional biomarkers (albumin, prealbumin, hemoglobin, transferrin), and positively modulates intestinal permeability markers (zonulin, occludin) compared to standard care alone. Individualized exercise training was safe, with no increased adverse events. Personalized exercise is a beneficial adjunctive therapy for improving metabolic and nutritional outcomes in this high-risk population during chemotherapy.
