{"entity":{"id":"idea-bio2-remote-weight-step-monitoring","kind":"idea","name":"Catch wasting early with a smart scale and a step counter","aka":[],"tldr":"Slow weight loss and falling daily activity are the first signs of cancer wasting, and both can be measured at home. An alert could bring help months earlier.","summary":"Home weight and activity monitoring is cheap and acceptable, and remote symptom monitoring has already improved survival and quality of life in randomised oncology trials. Trajectory-based alerts on weight and step count would detect functional decline weeks to months before clinic visits, at which point nutrition and exercise interventions still work.","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"Bottleneck evidence (Cachexia, toxicity and the limits of the patient): Fearon et al., Definition and classification of cancer cachexia (Lancet Oncology 2011)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(10)70218-7"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["pancreatic","nsclc"],"sections":[],"technologies":["exercise-oncology","geriatric-assessment"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-cachexia-supportive","b-patient-voice","b-toxicity-qol"],"keyPapers":["paper-fearon-lancet-oncol"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"hypothesis":"Trajectory-triggered alerts from home weight and activity data lead to supportive care intervention a median of two months earlier and reduce unplanned admissions compared with clinic-based assessment.","rationale":"Patient-reported outcome monitoring with alerts improved survival in randomised trials, showing that earlier detection of deterioration changes outcomes. Weight and steps are objective, continuous and require no patient effort beyond wearing a device.","test":"A randomised trial of monitored versus usual follow-up in patients starting palliative-intent chemotherapy, with time to supportive care intervention and unplanned admissions as endpoints.","maturity":"speculative","actor":"patients","cost":"small","horizonYears":3},"route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-remote-weight-step-monitoring/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/nsclc/"},{"id":"pancreatic","kind":"cancer","name":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/pancreatic/"}],"technology":[{"id":"exercise-oncology","kind":"technology","name":"Exercise & lifestyle oncology","route":"/technologies/exercise-oncology/"},{"id":"geriatric-assessment","kind":"technology","name":"Geriatric assessment","route":"/technologies/geriatric-assessment/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-cachexia-supportive","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Cachexia, toxicity and the limits of the patient","route":"/bottlenecks/b-cachexia-supportive/"},{"id":"b-patient-voice","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Patients lack understanding, navigation and agency","route":"/bottlenecks/b-patient-voice/"},{"id":"b-toxicity-qol","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued","route":"/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-fearon-lancet-oncol","kind":"paper","name":"Definition and classification of cancer cachexia: an international consensus","route":"/key-papers/paper-fearon-lancet-oncol/"}]}}