NCT04720209

Brief Summary

The purpose of this research is to determine whether a 16-week exercise program for individuals with breast cancer and have completed treatment (i.e., surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation) for breast cancer will decrease inflammation in fat tissue.

Trial Health

75
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
102

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable breast-cancer

Timeline
4mo left

Started Aug 2021

Longer than P75 for not_applicable breast-cancer

Geographic Reach
1 country

2 active sites

Status
active not recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress93%
Aug 2021Sep 2026

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

January 19, 2021

Completed
3 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 22, 2021

Completed
7 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

August 13, 2021

Completed
5.1 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

August 31, 2026

Expected
15 days until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

September 15, 2026

Last Updated

September 23, 2025

Status Verified

September 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

5.1 years

First QC Date

January 19, 2021

Last Update Submit

September 22, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

Breast CancerBreast Cancer Stage IBreast Cancer Stage IIBreast Cancer Stage III

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

  • Decrease in adipose tissue levels of inflammation.

    Adipose tissue inflammation will be assessed by measuring: M1 and M2 adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs)

    16 Weeks

  • Decrease in adipose tissue levels of inflammation.

    Adipose tissue inflammation will be assessed by measuring: leptin, adiponectin, IL-6 and IL-8

    16 weeks

  • Decrease in adipose tissue levels of inflammation.

    Adipose tissue inflammation will be assessed by measuring: hs-CRP and TNF-a

    16 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • 4-month CARE intervention on sarcopenic obesity.

    16 Weeks

Study Arms (3)

Circuit-style aerobic and resistance Exercise(CARE)

EXPERIMENTAL

This research study involves exercise. Participants in this study will be assigned to one of 2 exercise groups, undergo three (voluntary) biopsies of fat tissue, and participate in 7 testing visits and 48 exercise training visits. Participation is expected to last 12 months. -16 weeks of circuit-style aerobic and resistance exercise

Other: CARE

Traditional Aerobic Resistance Exercise (TARE)

EXPERIMENTAL

This research study involves exercise. Participants in this study will be assigned to one of 2 exercise groups, undergo three (voluntary) biopsies of fat tissue, and participate in 7 testing visits and 48 exercise training visits. Participation is expected to last 12 months \- 16 weeks of traditional aerobic and resistance exercise

Other: TARE

Home-Based Stretching

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Attention Control for 16 weeks home-based stretching -structured home-based stretching program, participants will be asked to maintain their current activity level for the 4-month study duration, and will be offered the CARE program upon study completion

Other: Home-Based Stretching

Interventions

CAREOTHER

CARE is a 16-week, supervised, periodized AE and RE program performed in a circuit fashion 3 days/week on-site

Circuit-style aerobic and resistance Exercise(CARE)
TAREOTHER

TARE is a 16- week, supervised AE and RE program consisting of three sessions per week on-site

Traditional Aerobic Resistance Exercise (TARE)

This group will perform a home-based program of the same stretches utilized in the CARE and TARE groups.

Home-Based Stretching

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexfemale
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Women diagnosed with breast cancer (all stages excluding stage IV), low grade disease positive for estrogen and progesterone receptors
  • Over the age of 18 years; children under the age of 18 will be excluded due to rarity of disease
  • The effects of exercise on the developing fetus are unknown. For this reason, women of child-bearing potential must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control or abstinence) prior to study entry and for six months following duration of study participation. Should a woman become pregnant or suspect that she is pregnant while participating on the trial, she should inform her treating physician immediately. Patients must undergo a pregnancy test via urine strip that will be covered and provided by the PI. Urine strips will be utilized over bloodwork for cost effectiveness. Urine tests will be distributed once before DEXA scans.
  • Are centrally obese with the following criteria\[57\] (determined by study team at eligibility screening): BMI \>30 kg/m2 (calculated using height and weight; an upper limit BMI will not be set; we will rely on obtaining physicians' clearance to assess full eligibility) or body fat \>30% (estimated by bioelectrical impedance), and waist circumference \>35 in.
  • Have undergone a lumpectomy or mastectomy.
  • If cancer treatment included neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, participant must have received and completed treatment.
  • Speak English
  • Is in breast cancer remission with no detectable disease present
  • Able to initiate a supervised exercise program (free from any cardiovascular, respiratory or musculoskeletal disease or joint problems that preclude moderate physical activity)
  • Free from history of chronic disease including uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension or thyroid disease.
  • Have not experienced a weight reduction ≥10% within the past 6 months
  • Currently participate in less than 60 minutes of structured exercise/week
  • No planned reconstructive surgery with flap repair during trial and follow-up period
  • May use adjuvant endocrine therapy, trastuzumab or pertuzumab if use will be continued for duration of study intervention
  • Does not smoke (no smoking during previous 12 months)
  • +2 more criteria

You may not qualify if:

  • Patients should not have any uncontrolled illness including ongoing or active infection, uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension or thyroid disease
  • Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents, or concurrent biological, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy
  • Patients with other active malignancies are ineligible for this study.
  • Patients with metastatic disease
  • Is not centrally obese as defined above
  • Has not completed surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment associated with their diagnosis
  • History of any musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory or neurological diseases that preclude the participation in exercise
  • Participates in more than 60 minutes of structured exercise/week
  • Is planning reconstructive surgery with flap repair during trial and follow-up period
  • Currently smokes
  • Is unable to travel to the exercise facilities
  • Subjects, who in the opinion of the investigator, may not be able to comply with the safety monitoring requirements of the study

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

Location

Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Breast Neoplasms

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neoplasms by SiteNeoplasmsBreast DiseasesSkin DiseasesSkin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Study Officials

  • Christina M Dieli-Conwright, PhD

    Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
PREVENTION
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

January 19, 2021

First Posted

January 22, 2021

Study Start

August 13, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 15, 2026

Last Updated

September 23, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

The Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center encourages and supports the responsible and ethical sharing of data from clinical trials. De-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript may only be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement. Requests may be directed to Sponsor Investigator or designee. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
Time Frame
Data can be shared no earlier than 1 year following the date of publication
Access Criteria
DFCI - Contact the Belfer Office for Dana-Farber Innovations (BODFI) at innovation@dfci.harvard.edu

Locations