Exercise Intervention in Women Diagnosed With Triple-negative Breast Cancer Receiving Oncologic Treatment

NCT ID: NCT06497322

Last Updated: 2024-07-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 60 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-09-01
• Study Completion Date: 2027-12-31

Brief Summary

In this randomized, controlled, prospective, two-arm intervention study, the investigators plan to investigate the effects of high-intensity interval training in women diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Among the different subtypes, triple-negative breast cancer accounts for about 15-20% of all breast cancer cases and is characterized by a more aggressive clinical course. Recent results indicate that the percentage of patients with a pathologic complete response was 13% higher in the chemotherapy-immunotherapy group (by 64.8%) than in the placebo-chemotherapy group (51.2). High-intensity interval training has a positive effect on the immune system, suggesting that it may improve the efficacy of chemo-immunotherapy, leading to a higher rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients with newly diagnosed triple-negative breast cancer. In addition to the immunomodulatory effects, this exercise model could boost microvascular perfusion, thereby improving tumor perfusion, enhancing chemo-immunotherapy and leading to better outcomes.

Detailed Description

Recent clinical trials showed promising results in patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) who received four cycles of pembrolizumab (at a dose of 200 mg) every three weeks + standard chemotherapy, compared to patients who received placebo + chemotherapy alone. Importantly, the overall risk of disease progression that precluded surgery, local or distant recurrence, occurrence of a second primary cancer, or death from any cause was 37% lower with pembrolizumab chemotherapy compared to placebo chemotherapy. Exercise training is a supportive multi-effect strategy with the ability to influence multiple organ systems. There is growing epidemiologic evidence that a physically active lifestyle is associated with a lower risk of developing cancer, particularly colon and breast cancer. Recent preclinical studies suggest that exercise can control and attenuate the growth of tumor cells. Therefore, exercise could be a potential means to increase the rate of pCR in cancer patients in general. High-intensity interval training resulted in higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels, particularly in breast cancer and lung patients who exercised for at least 8 weeks, with a significant improvement (from 2.40 to 4.19 mL-min-1-kg-1) observed compared to control groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of HIIT training on immune system response and pCR rates (most commonly defined as complete eradication of the tumor as a surrogate parameter for good prognosis) during neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in women with TNBC. The working hypothesis is that HIIT training would activate the immune system and enhance the combination of neoadjuvant treatment, leading to higher rates of pCR in the aerobic group compared to the usual treatment group. Thus, this exercise model may also promote microvascular perfusion, improve tumor perfusion, and potentially lead to more favorable outcomes in neoadjuvant therapy, increasing the efficacy of systemic treatments and allowing for better therapeutic outcomes. The researchers support the idea that high-intensity aerobic exercise may at least partially challenge the large heterogeneity in response to medical treatment in women with a first diagnosis of TNBC and lead to higher response rates in the experimental group.

Conditions

Breast Cancer; Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Experimental group

All women in the experimental group receive standardized high-intensity interval training over a period of 6 months in combination with neoadjuvant therapy (immunochemotherapy). The individual training sessions are guided and monitored by qualified exercise therapists, taking into account the side effects of ongoing treatment. Each training session will last about one hour, with the effective training time being 30 minutes. Bike training begins 1 hour before neoadjuvant therapy and then at the same time of day between therapies. The TNBC patients start with 5 minutes of cycling followed by 3 × 3 - minute HIIT training sequences, constantly alternating: i) 30 s at 90% of maximal PO (70 rpm for 30 s) and ii) 30 s of light pedaling at 20% of PO). The training session will be concluded with a 5-min cool-down cycling (easy pedaling) and stretching. This protocol will be performed twice a week throughout the study.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Exercise intervention - High intensity interval training on a cycle-ergometer

Intervention Type: OTHER

The experimental group starts with 5 minutes of unloaded cycling, followed by 3 × 3-minute HIIT training sequences alternating between: i) 30 seconds at 90% of maximal PO (70 rpm for 30 seconds) and ii) 30 seconds of light pedaling at 20% of PO). Recent work suggests that this high-intensity approach to aerobic exercise is feasible and safe, even during acute oncology treatment. The HIIT sequences are interspersed with two 3-minute cycling sessions at moderate intensity. The training session will be concluded with a 5-minute cool-down by cycling (light pedaling) and stretching. This protocol will be performed twice a week throughout the study, and all patients who reach an 80% adherence threshold for the exercise intervention will be included in the final analysis.

Control group

The control group will receive the standard care during their neoadjuvant therapy (immunochemotherapy) over a 6-month period.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Exercise intervention - High intensity interval training on a cycle-ergometer

The experimental group starts with 5 minutes of unloaded cycling, followed by 3 × 3-minute HIIT training sequences alternating between: i) 30 seconds at 90% of maximal PO (70 rpm for 30 seconds) and ii) 30 seconds of light pedaling at 20% of PO). Recent work suggests that this high-intensity approach to aerobic exercise is feasible and safe, even during acute oncology treatment. The HIIT sequences are interspersed with two 3-minute cycling sessions at moderate intensity. The training session will be concluded with a 5-minute cool-down by cycling (light pedaling) and stretching. This protocol will be performed twice a week throughout the study, and all patients who reach an 80% adherence threshold for the exercise intervention will be included in the final analysis.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Primary diagnosis of histologically verified triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) measurable by ultrasound imaging
• Stage of disease: T1c and nodal status N1-2 or Stage T2-4 and nodal status N0-2
• Deemed eligible for intended treatment with Paclitaxel 80mg/m2 q1w x12, Carboplatin 1,5 AUC q1w x12, Pembrolizumab 200mg q3w x4 followed by Epirubicin 90mg/ m2 q3w x 4, Cyclophosphamid 600mg m2 q3w x 4, Pembrolizumab 200mg q3w x 4; by the treating physician
• Treatment in curative intent with life expectancy ≥ 3 months
• Female participants of childbearing potential must be willing to use an adequate method of contraception for the course of the study through 12 months after the last dose of study treatment for participants who have received cyclophosphamide, and 6 months after the last dose of study treatment for participants who did not.
• Sufficient German language skills;

Exclusion Criteria

• History of invasive malignancy ≤2 years prior to signing informed consent except for adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or in situ cervical cancer.
• Any history of previous systemic treatment for TNBC;
• Any diseases that do not allow sports activity, such as:

• Clinically-manifest heart failure (NYHA III-IV);
• Respiratory partial or global insufficiency;
• Permanent thrombocytopenia <10,000/µl, e.g., refractory autoimmune thrombocytopenia;
• Congenital or acquired thrombocytopathies or coagulation disorders.
• Symptomatic CHD (clearance certificate required, stress ECG and cardiac ultrasound recommended if necessary);
• Participation in another exercise study;

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 85 Years
• Eligible Sex: FEMALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

St. Elisabeth Krankenhaus Köln-Hohenlind

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University Hospital of Cologne

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Freerk Bauman

Prof.dr. Freerk T. Baumann

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Freerk T Baumann, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Hospital of Cologne

Locations

University Hospital of Cologne and St. Elizabeth Hospital

Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Countries

Germany

Central Contacts

Freerk T Baumann, PhD

Role: CONTACT

freerk.baumann@uk-koeln.de

0221-478-42649

Damir Zubac, PhD

Role: CONTACT

damir.zubac@uk-koeln.de

Facility Contacts

Damir Zubac, PhD

Role: primary

damir.zubac@uk-koeln.de

0221 478-97185

Freerk T baumann, PhD

Role: backup

freerk.baumann@uk-koeln.de

References

Schmid P, Cortes J, Pusztai L, McArthur H, Kummel S, Bergh J, Denkert C, Park YH, Hui R, Harbeck N, Takahashi M, Foukakis T, Fasching PA, Cardoso F, Untch M, Jia L, Karantza V, Zhao J, Aktan G, Dent R, O'Shaughnessy J; KEYNOTE-522 Investigators. Pembrolizumab for Early Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2020 Feb 27;382(9):810-821. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1910549.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 32101663 (View on PubMed)

Cortes J, Rugo HS, Cescon DW, Im SA, Yusof MM, Gallardo C, Lipatov O, Barrios CH, Perez-Garcia J, Iwata H, Masuda N, Torregroza Otero M, Gokmen E, Loi S, Guo Z, Zhou X, Karantza V, Pan W, Schmid P; KEYNOTE-355 Investigators. Pembrolizumab plus Chemotherapy in Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2022 Jul 21;387(3):217-226. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2202809.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 35857659 (View on PubMed)

Sheinboim D, Parikh S, Manich P, Markus I, Dahan S, Parikh R, Stubbs E, Cohen G, Zemser-Werner V, Bell RE, Ruiz SA, Percik R, Brenner R, Leibou S, Vaknine H, Arad G, Gerber Y, Keinan-Boker L, Shimony T, Bikovski L, Goldstein N, Constantini K, Labes S, Mordechai S, Doron H, Lonescu A, Ziv T, Nizri E, Choshen G, Eldar-Finkelman H, Tabach Y, Helman A, Ben-Eliyahu S, Erez N, Perlson E, Geiger T, Ben-Zvi D, Khaled M, Gepner Y, Levy C. An Exercise-Induced Metabolic Shield in Distant Organs Blocks Cancer Progression and Metastatic Dissemination. Cancer Res. 2022 Nov 15;82(22):4164-4178. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-22-0237.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 36084256 (View on PubMed)

Wolin KY, Yan Y, Colditz GA. Physical activity and risk of colon adenoma: a meta-analysis. Br J Cancer. 2011 Mar 1;104(5):882-5. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6606045. Epub 2011 Feb 8.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 21304525 (View on PubMed)

Wu Y, Zhang D, Kang S. Physical activity and risk of breast cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2013 Feb;137(3):869-82. doi: 10.1007/s10549-012-2396-7. Epub 2012 Dec 30.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 23274845 (View on PubMed)

Sanft T, Harrigan M, McGowan C, Cartmel B, Zupa M, Li FY, Ferrucci LM, Puklin L, Cao A, Nguyen TH, Neuhouser ML, Hershman DL, Basen-Engquist K, Jones BA, Knobf T, Chagpar AB, Silber A, Tanasijevic A, Ligibel JA, Irwin ML. Randomized Trial of Exercise and Nutrition on Chemotherapy Completion and Pathologic Complete Response in Women With Breast Cancer: The Lifestyle, Exercise, and Nutrition Early After Diagnosis Study. J Clin Oncol. 2023 Dec 1;41(34):5285-5295. doi: 10.1200/JCO.23.00871. Epub 2023 Sep 1.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 37656930 (View on PubMed)

Lavin-Perez AM, Collado-Mateo D, Mayo X, Humphreys L, Liguori G, James Copeland R, Del Villar Alvarez F, Jimenez A. High-intensity exercise to improve cardiorespiratory fitness in cancer patients and survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021 Feb;31(2):265-294. doi: 10.1111/sms.13861. Epub 2020 Nov 5.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 33098219 (View on PubMed)

Gouez M, Perol O, Perol M, Caux C, Menetrier-Caux C, Villard M, Walzer T, Delrieu L, Saintigny P, Marijnen P, Pialoux V, Fervers B. Effect of acute aerobic exercise before immunotherapy and chemotherapy infusion in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: protocol for the ERICA feasibility trial. BMJ Open. 2022 Apr 7;12(4):e056819. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056819.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 35393316 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

No. 13-050

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id