Aerobic Exercise and Cognitive Functioning in Women With Breast Cancer (ACTIVATE)
Breast Neoplasms
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Breast Neoplasms focused on measuring Breast Neoplasms, Exercise* OR "Aerobic Exercise", Cognitive Function*, "Antineoplastic therapy" OR "Antineoplastic agent", Chemotherapy, Adjuvant, Chemotherapy, Neoadjuvant
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer;
- Scheduled to receive adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy;
- Able to speak and understand English in order to complete the study outcome measures;
- Approval of medical oncologist to participate in the exercise intervention
Exclusion Criteria:
- Having previously received chemotherapy or radiation therapy;
- Score <24 at baseline on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA; indicating moderate to severe cognitive impairment);
- Having received a diagnosis of severe anxiety or mood disorder within the past year;
- Having a medical condition that could impact cognition (e.g., prior head injury, substance use disorder);
- Currently meeting American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) aerobic exercise guidelines for cancer survivors in the 3 months prior to enrolment;
- Body mass index ≥45 kg/m2;
- Mobility issues that require a mobility aid or that prevent exercise on a bike, treadmill, or elliptical (e.g., orthopedic injury, severe arthritis).
Additional Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: During the screening process, patients will be informed that they can participate in additional optional assessments (i.e., MRI and EEG (Vancouver site only for EEG)
Additional inclusion criteria for MRI:
- Right-handedness, because language is lateralized and has been shown to be left side dominant (for right handers) during MRI tasks;
- Able to read, understand, and provide informed consent in English for the additional assessments.
Additional exclusion criteria for MRI are:
- Metal implants (e.g., pacemaker) or metal dental work (aside from fillings) that would preclude scanning;
- Claustrophobia;
- Poor eyesight (not correctable with contact lenses) that precludes viewing stimuli presented in the scanner;
- Lower back pain that would preclude a person from lying relatively still for one hour;
- Breast tissue expander(s) inserted in the surgery site.
Sites / Locations
- Breast Cancer Training Center, 614 W. 8th AveRecruiting
- Clinical Exercise Physiology LabRecruiting
- School of Human Kinetics - University of OttawaRecruiting
- School of Human Kinetics - University of OttawaRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Other
Aerobic Exercise
Usual Care (Wait-list Control)
Participants will complete three supervised aerobic exercise sessions each week using the treadmill, stationary bicycle or elliptical training for the duration of their chemotherapy (12-18 weeks). Aerobic exercise will be performed for 20-40 minutes at 50-75% of heart rate reserve. Participants will wear heart rate monitors during all supervised sessions (Polar Electro Inc., Lake Success, NY) and will be provided with target heart rates that will be individualized using their baseline (i.e., week 0) assessment data. Home-based exercise will be introduced in week 3. For the home-based sessions, participants will be asked to complete at least 1 session per week of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (an activity of their choosing; e.g., walking).
Participants randomly assigned to UC group will be advised to continue with their regular activities of daily living. Following their chemotherapy, the UC group will receive the exercise intervention (lasting 12 weeks).