International perspectives on exercise oncology : current state, challenges, and opportunities for future development

Abstract

Exercise oncology has emerged as a distinctive area of research and clinical practice. To obtain a global overview of this field, we summarize viewpoints from experts across 6 continents on (1) the scope of exercise oncology research and programs, (2) the availability of reimbursement for cancer exercise services, and (3) pathways and initiatives for developing the exercise oncology workforce. From an international perspective, the field of exercise oncology has progressed substantially; however, gains made to date are uneven, with general underdevelopment in Africa, Asia, and South and Central America. In addition, the availability of cancer exercise services continues to fall short of the increasing demand worldwide. With the upcoming formation of the International Society of Exercise Oncology, we suggest leveraging coordinated efforts from the global exercise oncology community to optimize research capacity, enhance workforce development, and expand the delivery of exercise services to advance the field across the world.

Description

DATA AVAILABILITY : No new data were generated or analyzed for this article. SUPPLEMENTARY TABLE. Sampled countries and areas of each continent

Keywords

Cancer, Exercise, Africa, Asia, Central America, Medical oncology, Workforce, Exercise oncology

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG-03: Good health and well-being

Citation

Hao Luo, Paulo G Bergerot, Daniel A Galvão, Justin Y Jeon, Karen Mustian, Robert U Newton, Lervasen Pillay, Joachim Wiskemann, Kathryn H Schmitz, International perspectives on exercise oncology: current state, challenges, and opportunities for future development, JNCI Monographs, Volume 2025, Issue 71, September 2025, Pages 325–333, https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgaf028.