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Physical activity (PA) is associated with cancer risk, recurrence, and prognosis, and has an important role in cancer prevention. The aim of the study is to investigate the PA of cancer patients receiving radiation therapy (RT).

A total of 46 patients were included in the study. Male to female ratio was 1.9/1. Patients were designed according to their primary malignancies as five groups; lung (n=17), rectal (n =14), gastric (n=6), esophageal (n=4), and other malignancies i.e. pancreatic, hepatobiliary, and gallbladder (n=5). International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) was used for the assessment of PA. Questionnaires were administered on the first day of RT. PA of patients was classified as high (>3000), moderate (>600 to ≤3000), and low (≤600) according to total-PA scores.

Median age of the patients was 62 years (34-77). Patients with low, moderate and high PA scores were 56.5% (26), 39.1 % (n=18), and 4.4% (n=2), respectively. The majority of the lung cancer patients were with low PA scores (71%, n=12) and all of the esophageal cancer patients were with low PA scores. Rectal cancer patients had better PA scores; 8 had moderate and 1 had high scores, and 5 patients (36%) were with low PA scores. Three patients with gastric cancer had low scores and 3 had moderate. Two patients with high PA scores were diagnosed with lung and rectal cancer.

The majority of the cancer patients were minimally active; especially esophageal and lung cancer patients were more likely to have low PA. Evaluation of PA in cancer patients may be taken into interest for both improving prognosis and better supportive care.