Researching the Effect of Exercise on Cancer

NCT04589468 | Recruiting

• 3 other identifiers: 25779P30CA033572NCI-2026-04201
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 51
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 9

Brief Summary

Researchers think that exercise may be able to prevent cancer from coming back by lowering ctDNA levels. The purpose of this study is to explore how aerobic exercise (exercise that stimulates and strengthens the heart and lungs and improves the body's use of oxygen) can reduce the level of ctDNA found in the blood. During the study, the highest level of exercise that is practical, is safe, and has positive effects on the body that may prevent the return of cancer (including a decrease in ctDNA levels) will be found. Each level of exercise tested will be a certain number of minutes each week. Once the best level of exercise is found, it will be tested further in a new group of participants. All participants in this study will have been previously treated for breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer.

Conditions

Breast Cancer; Prostate Cancer; Colorectal Cancer; Stage I Breast Cancer; Stage II Breast Cancer; Stage III Breast Cancer; Stage I Prostate Cancer; Stage II Prostate Cancer; Stage III Prostate Cancer; Stage I Colorectal Cancer; Stage II Colorectal Cancer; Stage III Colorectal Cancer

Keywords

Breast Cancer; Prostate Cancer; Colorectal Cancer; exercise; ctDNA; 20-378; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Identify the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of exercise for testing in the phase 1b.

  Using an adaptive phase 1 (non-randomized) design, non-exercising (i.e., \<60 mins/wk of moderate or vigorous exercise) post-treatment patients with primary breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer and detectable ctDNA (n=50) will be administered one of five escalating dose levels.

  24 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Dose-Finding/Escalation

EXPERIMENTAL

Fifty (n=50) post-treatment patients with colorectal cancer or breast cancer, deemed high-risk of relapse. The study will use an adaptive continuous reassessment method (CRM) design to assign patients sequentially at trial entry to one of five escalated doses depending on the feasibility / tolerability of exercise therapy evaluated over the total treatment period. The primary objective of this phase 1a trial is to identify the RP2D of exercise therapy for further evaluation in the phase 1b trial.

Other: Exercise

Dose Expansion

EXPERIMENTAL

An independent cohort of 30 post-treatment patients with colorectal (n=15) or breast (n=15) cancer deemed high-risk of relapse. This cohort expansion trial will only evaluate the RP2D identified in the phase 1a trial. The primary objective of this phase 1b trial is to further evaluate the feasibility, safety, and biological activity of the RP2D.

Other: Exercise

Interventions

Exercise OTHER

Exercise therapy in both phases will consist of individualized walking delivered 3 to 6 times weekly (over a 7-day period). Exercise treatment will be delivered for up to 18 months, or until progression of disease or withdrawal of consent, whichever comes first. The phase 1a trial will assess five doses of exercise therapy (i.e., 90, 150, 225, 300, and 375 mins/wk) delivered following a non-linear (i.e., exercise dose is continually altered and progressed in conjunction with appropriate rest/recovery sessions across the entire intervention period) dosing schedule. The phase 1b trial will only test one dose of exercise therapy - the RP2D identified in the phase 1a trial.

Dose Expansion; Dose-Finding/Escalation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Postsurgical diagnosis of patients with primary solid tumors at high-risk of relapse as defined by one of the following:
• ° High-risk primary solid tumor (e.g., colorectal, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancer) (colorectal cancer only for Phase 1a)
• Stage 3 or
• ctDNA positive
• ° High-risk breast cancer
• Residual invasive disease in the breast or the lymph nodes following completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT),
• Estrogen receptor (ER), and/or progesterone receptor (PR) positive and HER2 negative,
• CPS-EG score ≥ 3,
• CPS-EG score ≥2 w ith ypN+, or
• Recurrence score ≥ 25
• No evidence of disease
• Age ≥ 18
• Interval of ≥ 1 month but ≤ 2 years following completion of all definitive adjuvant therapy
• Non-exercising (i.e., \< 30 minutes of moderate and \< 20 mins of vigorous exercise/wk), as assessed by remote activity and heart rate tracking for a 7-day period prior to study entry)
• ° If ≥ 30 minutes but less than 45 minutes of moderate exercise/week, or if ≥ 20 minutes but less than 30 minutes of vigorous exercise/week, patients may be eligible, at the discretion of the PI.

You may not qualify if:

• Enrollment onto any other interventional investigational study except interventions determined by the PI not to confound study outcomes
• Any other current diagnosis of invasive cancer of any kind
• Distant metastatic malignancy of any kind
• Any other condition or intercurrent illness that, in the opinion of the investigator, makes the subject a poor candidate for study participation

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Cancer Institute (NCI): collaborator
• City of Hope Medical Center: lead

Study Sites (9)

City of Hope Medical Center

Durate, California, 91010, United States

RECRUITING

Natera, Inc. (Data or Specimen Analysis Only)

San Carlos, California, 94070, United States

NOT YET RECRUITING

Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol Activities)

Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 07920, United States

ACTIVE NOT RECRUITING

Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited Protocol Activities)

Middletown, New Jersey, 07748, United States

ACTIVE NOT RECRUITING

Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Limited Protocol Activities)

Montvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States

ACTIVE NOT RECRUITING

Memorial Sloan Kettering Commack (Limited Protocol Activities)

Commack, New York, 11725, United States

ACTIVE NOT RECRUITING

Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Limited Protocol Activities)

Harrison, New York, 10604, United States

ACTIVE NOT RECRUITING

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

New York, New York, 10065, United States

ACTIVE NOT RECRUITING

Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activities)

Uniondale, New York, 11553, United States

ACTIVE NOT RECRUITING

Related Links

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Breast Neoplasms; Prostatic Neoplasms; Colorectal Neoplasms; Motor Activity

Interventions

Exercise

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Breast Diseases; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Genital Neoplasms, Male; Urogenital Neoplasms; Genital Diseases, Male; Genital Diseases; Urogenital Diseases; Prostatic Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Intestinal Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Colonic Diseases; Intestinal Diseases; Rectal Diseases; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Lee Jones, MD

  City of Hope Medical Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Lee Jones, MD

CONTACT

6262184673; leejones@coh.org

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SEQUENTIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 5, 2020
• First Posted: October 19, 2020
• Study Start (Estimated): October 30, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 13, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 13, 2028
• Last Updated: August 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Locations

US (9)