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Exercise in Metastatic Breast Cancer: EMBody

Exercise in Metastatic Breast Cancer: EMBody

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05468034
Enrollment
100
Registered
2022-07-21
Start date
2023-04-26
Completion date
2027-12-01
Last updated
2026-04-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Breast Cancer, Indolent Metastatic Breast Cancer

Keywords

breast cancer, indolent metastatic breast cancer, exercise

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to study exercise in a novel population with indolent MBC (no progression on current therapy in prior 12 months and not receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy). The study team hypothesizes that delivering virtual, supervised, progressive intensity aerobic and resistance training exercise for 16 weeks in this population will significantly improve 1) cardiorespiratory fitness, functional status, and sarcopenia (low muscle mass), all established predictors of survival, and 2) patient- reported outcomes.

Detailed description

This is a randomized, two arm, single-center study designed to compare the effect of exercise versus usual care control on the clinical parameter of cardiorespiratory fitness, in patients with metastatic breast cancer with indolent disease biology over a 16-week period. This study will be enrolling up to 100 participants. Participants will be randomized 1:1 in blocks of 4 to the exercise intervention or usual care, stratified by frailty yes/no defined by baseline SPPB score ≤ 8 or \> 8. Primary Objective To compare the effect of a 16-week multimodality, virtually delivered exercise intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness measured by a modified Bruce ramp protocol treadmill test to usual care, in patients with indolent metastatic breast cancer. Secondary Objectives 1. To compare the effect of exercise versus usual care on objective physical function measured by the short physical performance battery (SBBP) 2. To compare the effect of exercise versus usual care on subjective physical functioning measured by PROMIS-29 questionnaire 3. To compare the effect of exercise versus usual care on body composition, measured by visceral adiposity, lean muscle mass, and muscle density on CT scans obtained as standard of care using SliceOmatic software 4. To compare the effect of exercise versus usual care on objective physical activity measured by accelerometer wear 5. To compare the effect of exercise versus usual care on patient reported outcomes, including fatigue (BFI) and health related quality of life (PROMIS-29) 6. To determine the fidelity of the exercise intervention, measured by changes in measures of constructs of habit and intention administered by questionnaire 7. To describe patient uptake and adherence with the intervention, measured by proportion of approached patients who consent to the study, and proportion of assigned training sessions attended by patients randomized to the exercise arm.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALExercise Intervention

Eligible and consented participants randomized to the exercise arm (EX) will work with an exercise trainer 3x weekly for 16 weeks. Training sessions are 60 min. Schedules are determined by participant and trainer with oversight by the study team, ideally occurring at similar times each day in line with IBC theory. Each training session will be delivered virtually over a HIPAA compliant IU Health Zoom platform. The virtual exercise sessions include 3 parts: cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, and balance or stretching exercise. During sessions, patients will wear provided heart rate monitors with a training goal of moderate intensity, defined as 40-60% of heart rate reserve. Based on the participant's rate of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate, and individual response during each session, trainers will follow an algorithm designed by the PI and collaborators to progress or regress intensity level. Participant will attend a class on creating and maintaining behavior changes.

Sponsors

Indiana University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Age ≥ 18 years 2. Diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer 3. No progression of disease in the 12 months prior to screening per the treating investigator 1. If participant has changed treatments in the prior 12 months for reasons other than progressive disease, they remain eligible 2. Participants on no treatment or "no evidence of disease" but still with a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer are eligible 4. ECOG performance status of 0-2 5. Ability to walk on a treadmill without assistive device. 6. Informed consent and authorization of the release of health information must be obtained according to institutional guidelines 7. Currently not meeting physical activity guidelines (defined as less than 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week measured by the IPAQ questionnaire administered during screening) 8. Participants should have a cellular device compatible with iOS 15 or Android operating system 7.

Exclusion criteria

1. Receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy at any point in the prior 12 months. 1. Participants receiving endocrine therapy are eligible. 2. Participants receiving targeted therapy or antibody therapy are eligible (examples including trastuzumab, pertuzumab, TDM-1, trastuzumab deruxtecan, sacituzumab govetecan, immunotherapy, CDK4/6 inhibitors, olaparib, alpelisib, etc.) 2. Any condition precluding supervised exercise participation. A letter from a physician supporting participation can supersede this eligibility criteria. * NYHA class III or IV congestive heart failure * Uncontrolled angina * Myocardial infarction in the prior 12 months * Orthopedic surgery in the previous 3 months or plans for orthopedic surgery during the study period * Chronic uncontrolled pulmonary conditions such as uncontrolled asthma (symptoms \> 2 days/week) or dyspnea requiring oxygen * Symptomatic peripheral vascular disease * Or any other comorbidity that would interfere with the ability to complete and comply with the protocol in the opinion of the investigator, including psychological illness * History of fragility fracture 3. Active, untreated brain metastases

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in cardiorespiratory fitnessbaseline, 16 weeksMeasured by minutes on the treadmill

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
physical performance batterybaseline, 8, and 16 weekstotal score on short physical performance battery
Mean quality of life, as measured by the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-29baseline, 8, and 16 weeksLikert-scaled questionnaire, with response scores ranging from 1 to 5. Scores alternate from 1 or 5 being the lowest value.
muscle massbaseline, and 16 weeksmeasured by mg/kg2 on HU on PET/CT scans
muscle densitybaseline, and 16 weeksmeasured by mg/kg2 on HU on CT scans
adipose massbaseline, and 16 weeksmeasured by mg/kg2 on HU on CT scans
Change in physical activity minutesbaseline to post 16-week interventionmeasured by accelerometer data
Change in steps per daybaseline to post 16-week interventionmeasured by accelerometer data
Mean fatigue score as measured by the Tampa scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK)baseline, and16-weeks17 item Likert scale checklist
Change intention and habits, as measured by the Behavioral Theory Scalesbaseline, and 16-weeksLikert-scaled questionnaire, measured with a 5-point Likert scale with response options ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." Total scores are summed in the range of 40 to 200, with a higher score indicating stronger motivation that could predict exercise behavior.
Uptake of the studydate open to accrual until closed to accrual, up to 2 yearsthe proportion of total patients approached, screened, and ultimately completing the baseline assessments
Adherence with the intervention definedbaseline to post 16-week interventionthe proportion of scheduled sessions attended by participants randomized to the exercise intervention arm
change in patient-reported functional limitations, as measured by a functional limitations scalebaseline, and16-weeksmean score of 5 question scale, where participants responses are either scored 0 or 1, with "some difficulty" a 1 and "no difficulty" as a 0.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTNiraj Shah
shahnir@iu.edu(317) 278-3420
CONTACTTarah Ballinger, MD
tarab@iu.edu
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORTarah Ballinger, MD

Indiana University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 28, 2026