Breast Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
exercise, resistance training, aerobic training, breast cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, fatigue, quality of life, tumor response
Brief summary
The BENEFIT-Study is a randomized controlled 3-arm intervention trial investigating the currently discussed hypothesis that exercise concomitant to chemotherapy (CTx) may have a beneficial effect on cancer prognosis by boosting the anti-tumoral effect of the cytostatics or by enhancing therapy compliance. This hypothesis is based on pre-clinical and exploratory clinical trials. Breast cancer patients scheduled for neoadjuvant CTx will be randomized to either a resistance training or an aerobic training concomitant to the neoadjuvant CTx, or a waiting list control group that will get no exercise intervention during neoadjuvant CTx (i.e. usual care) but will exercise after breast surgery. The primary study endpoint is the tumor size. Further, the effects of resistance and aerobic exercise on the clinical-pathologic stage (CPS-EG) score, the pathological complete response (pCR), tolerability and compliance to CTx, physical fitness, patient reported outcomes such as fatigue, sleep problems, quality of life, depressive symptoms, anxiety and pain, as well as cognitive function, and selected biomarkers will be investigated. A confirmation of the study hypothesis would be a strong argument for patients to engage in exercise as early as during neoadjuvant CTx. The trial will also provide evidence-based guidance for patients regarding type and timing of training.
Interventions
OTHERResistance exercise
The training will take place twice weekly over the course of neoadjuvant CTx at the NCT Heidelberg or in regional qualified centers under supervision and guidance of experienced exercise therapists. The progressive resistance exercise comprises 8 machine-based exercises, each performed in 3 sets, 12 repetitions at 60-80% of one repetition maximum (1-RM).
OTHERAerobic exercise
The training will take place twice weekly over the course of neoadjuvant CTx at the NCT Heidelberg or in regional qualified centers under supervision and guidance of experienced exercise therapists. The aerobic exercise will be performed on a cycle ergometer (or alternatively at a treadmill, elliptical, rowing ergometer, or combination) progressing from 60% to 70% VO2max with increasing duration. During weeks 7-18 the goal is to perform an extensive interval training.
OTHERUsual care during neoadjuvant chemotherapy/Exercise after surgery
The control group receives no exercise intervention during neoadjuvant CTx, which reflects the usual care condition. To investigate effects of different exercise timing, and to provide those patients also a potential health benefit and reduce drop-out and contamination, the control group will receive 18 weeks resistance or aerobic exercise (according to their personal preferences) after breast cancer surgery.
Sponsors
University Hospital Heidelberg
German Cancer Research Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Women ≥ 18 years of Age * Unilateral or bilateral primary carcinoma of the breast, confirmed histologically by core biopsy * Scheduled for neoadjuvant CTx (but not yet started) * Confirmed hormone receptor and Her2 status * Sufficient German language skills * Willing to train at the exercise facilities twice per week
Exclusion criteria
* Any physical or mental conditions that would hamper the adherence to the training programs or the completion of the study procedures * Engaging in systematic intense exercise training (at least 1h twice per week)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tumor size | change from baseline (before start of neoadjuvant chemotherapy) to breast surgery | percentage of change from the maximal diameter of the lesion assessed before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (by mammography or sonography) to the maximal diameter of the tumor assessed after neoadjuvant chemotherapy at breast surgery |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| pCR | at breast surgery | The Pathological Complete Response (pCR) is defined as ypT0/is ypN0 and has been consistently demonstrated to be a good prognostic factor for long-term benefit from neoadjuvant CTx. |
| Fatigue Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ) | at baseline, week 9, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); months 6 and 12 after breast surgery | Validated 20-item multidimensional self-assessment questionnaire to assess the physical, affective, and cognitive dimension of cancer-related fatigue |
| EORTC QLQ-C30 / BR23 | at baseline, week 9, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); months 6 and 12 after breast surgery | Validated 30-item self-assessment questionnaire to assess quality of life aspects. |
| Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression and Anxiety (PHQ-4) | at baseline, week 9, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); months 6 and 12 after breast surgery | A validated 4-item screener for depression and anxiety. |
| Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) | at baseline, week 9, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); months 6 and 12 after breast surgery | Validated questionnaire to assess sleep quality and sleep problems. |
| Spiroergometry (VO2max) | at baseline, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); month 6 after breast surgery | — |
| Isometric and isokinetic muscle strength measured by ISOMED 2000 | at baseline, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); month 6 after breast surgery | — |
| CPS-EG score | at breast surgery | The Clinical-Pathologic Stage (CPS-EG) score combines clinical tumor stage prior to neoadjuvant therapy (CS), pathological tumor stage after neoadjuvant treatment (PS), estrogen receptor status (E) and grading (G). It has been shown to be a valid prognostic factor to discriminate among patient subgroups with respect to survival after neoadjuvant CTx. |
| Self-developed physical activity questionnaire including type, duration, frequency and intensity of sports, cycling,and walking | Follow-up (6 months and 12 months after breast surgery) | — |
| Cognitive function - HVLT-R | at baseline, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); month 6 after breast surgery | Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revised (HVLT-R) |
| Cognitive function - TMT | at baseline, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); month 6 after breast surgery | Trail Making Test |
| Cognitive function - COWA | at baseline, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); month 6 after breast surgery | Controlled Oral Word Association |
| Sleep quality | at baseline, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); month 6 after breast surgery | Measured with ActiGraph (accelerometry) |
| Sleep efficiency | at baseline, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); month 6 after breast surgery | Measured with ActiGraph (accelerometry) |
| Body mass index | at baseline, post-chemotherapy (before breast surgery); month 6 after breast surgery | — |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed