In the initial phase, I developed the study protocol and all patient-related materials in accordance with local Ethics Committee requirements and obtained Ethics Approval, as well as all additional required approvals from the relevant managerial and scientific bodies (e.g. local Personal Data Protection Office). Furthermore, I established project-specific electronic case report forms within an anonymized database and recruited and trained clinical exercise physiologists to support study visits and supervise the exercise sessions.
In the execution phase, patients with colorectal cancer and liver metastases were enrolled and randomized to high-dose exercise, moderate-dose exercise, or usual care. I oversaw all aspects of trial conduct, including coordination of study visits, delivery of supervised training sessions, management of study personnel, procurement of equipment, and data management.
I disseminated the study aims and design at international scientific meetings, including the European College of Sport Science (2022), the Marie Curie Alumni Association International Conference (2024), and the Moving Beyond Conference (2025). Throughout the Fellowship period, I contributed to academic teaching, delivering courses on exercise and cancer within the PhD course Exercise as Medicine at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and the Master’s course Lifestyle Medicine at the University of Thessaly, Greece. In parallel, I pursued professional development through targeted courses and networking/leadership activities, including participation in the Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy Postdoc Summit (2023), selection as a finalist in the MSCA Science–Policy Pitch Competition (2023), and attendance at the MSCA Presidency Conference (2025). Notably, I was also selected for the two-year Exercise is Medicine European Emerging Leader Program which I completed in fall 2025, supporting the integration of exercise as adjunct treatment into healthcare systems.
The POET-mCRC project is currently ongoing, and no outcome results are available at this time. All enrolled participants have completed the 24-week exercise intervention, however, 9- and 12-month follow-up assessments remain outstanding for 19 participants. The last patient last visit (LPLV) is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026 after which data will be cleaned, locked, and analyzed, and results subsequently disseminated. Baseline data of all included participants are available; however, in compliance with ICH-GCP guidelines and because the Statistical Analysis Plan is still being finalized, we will refrain from presenting any data prior to database lock (after LPLV).
