Wearable technologies may be effective for rehabilitation, treatment monitoring, and prognostication, according to new data in The Oncologist. Ronald Chow and colleagues conducted a systematic review of 199 studies involving 18,513 patients with cancer. A total of 111 studies implemented wearables, primarily for rehabilitation, while 68 and 20 focused on treatment monitoring and prognostication, respectively. Popular devices in these studies included ActiGraph, Fitbit, Garmin, and ActivPAL. The most tracked metrics were daily minutes of physical activity, captured in 121 studies, and daily step counts, reported in 93 studies. Adherence to the wearable devices varied, with 86 studies showing that adherence rates ranged from 40% to 100%. Most of these studies (74%) reported high adherence rates exceeding 80%. Dr. Chow and colleagues emphasized that wearable devices are associated with physical and psychosocial benefits for patients undergoing rehabilitation.
