Recruiting

Supervised & Unsupervised Exercise

Sponsor:

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Code:

NCT06623097

Conditions

Cancer Survivorship

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Supervised Exercise and Diet Program

Unsupervised Exercise and Diet Program

Study Details

Brief summary:

This research study will compare the impact of virtually supervised and unsupervised home-based exercise and diet programs on cognitive and physical function among cancer survivors and support persons. This study will involve a 6-month home-based virtually supervised or unsupervised exercise and diet intervention.

The names of the study interventions involved in this study are:

  • Virtually supervised exercise and healthy diet care
  • Unsupervised exercise and healthy diet care

Conditions

Cancer Survivorship

Study ID

NCT06623097

Start date

Jul 23, 2025

Status verified date

Jan, 2026

Completion date

Apr 30, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Apr 30, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria for Survivor Participants:

  • Ability to understand and the willingness to sign informed consent prior to any study- related procedures.
  • Older adults (≥65 years of age); cancer survivors who are at higher risk for developing comorbid conditions related to physical and cognitive function due to age declines.
  • Completed chemotherapy and/or targeted therapy in the previous 36 months; said treatment exposure negatively impacts cognitive and physical function.
  • Diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate, or colorectal cancer which are obesity-related cancers with higher risk for developing comorbid conditions related to physical and cognitive function.
  • No detection of dementia as measured by scoring ≥ 23/41 on the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS); it may be unsafe for individuals with dementia to participate in the intervention, and they may not be able to experience measurable cognitive improvement. Additionally, scores on cognitive measures could reflect task comprehension failure - not actual cognitive ability - as individuals with dementia may not be able to comprehend or follow the test instructions
  • Overweight/obese: BMI ≥25 kg/m2 (calculated using height and weight) or body fat >35% for people assigned female at birth and >25% for people assigned male at birth (estimated by bioelectrical impedance); higher body weight negatively impacts cognitive and physical function.
  • Currently participating in <60 minutes of structured moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week (determined by screening questionnaire); sedentary cancer survivors have a higher need and are more likely to benefit from exercise exposure.
  • No history of disordered eating; to avoid triggering of past eating disorders with a diet intervention program.
  • Reside with an (≥18 years of age) informal support person willing to participate; survivor/support person dyads will participate in the trial together per the goals of the trial and finding mechanism.
  • Speak English or Spanish; the study teams will only be able to accommodate for these two languages at this time.
  • Willing to travel to the respective site for necessary data collection.

Inclusion Criteria for Support Person:

  • Adults ≥18 years of age; the intervention is not designed for adolescent and pediatric populations.
  • No detection of dementia as measured by scoring ≥ 23/41 on the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS); it may be unsafe for individuals with dementia to participate in the intervention, and they may not be able to experience measurable cognitive improvement. Additionally, scores on cognitive measures could reflect task comprehension failure - not actual cognitive ability - as individuals with dementia may not be able to comprehend or follow the test instructions
  • No history of disordered eating; to avoid triggering of past eating disorders with a diet intervention program.
  • Speak English or Spanish; the study teams will only be able to accommodate for these two languages at this time.

Exclusion Criteria for Survivor Participants:

  • Adult cancer survivors less than 65 years of age.
  • Survivors with a TICS score ≤ 22/41
  • Survivors with a BMI <25 kg/m2 and body fat <35% for people assigned female at birth and <25% for people assigned male at birth.
  • Survivors currently consuming a Mediterranean Diet or meeting 2 or more out of the following 3 Mediterranean eating pattern goals in the prior 6 weeks: ≥3 servings of vegetables per day, ≥ 3 servings of beans and legumes per week, or ≥ 1 serving of nuts per day.
  • Survivors with unstable comorbidities that prevent participation in moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise. Persons with unstable comorbidities may develop unexpected adverse events from exercise. For the purpose of participant safety, as well as because this study involves remote, home-based exercise where close supervision is not possible, participants with unstable medical conditions will be excluded. This will be evaluated through the PAR- Q.
  • Subjects with severe psychiatric conditions such as Active Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, significant Suicidal ideation, and an active substance use and/or substance abuse disorder; these conditions can 1) adversely affect important cognitive test measures and 2) the ability to complete certain circumscribed interventions in the study.
  • Subjects who in the opinion of the investigator may not be able to comply with the safety monitoring requirements of the study.
  • Survivors receiving treatment for an active malignancy (exceptions are treatment for basal cell carcinoma. They may receive long term treatments for their diagnosed breast, lung, prostate or colorectal cancer including hormone therapy). This study is exclusively targeting survivors post-primary cancer treatment.

Exclusion Criteria for Support Person:

  • Support persons less than 18 years of age.
  • Support persons with a TICS score ≤ 22/41
  • Given the age range of support persons include those in childbearing years, people who are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant during study duration will be excluded due to the unknown nature of exercise on developing fetuses.
  • Support persons with unstable comorbidities that prevent participation in moderate-to- vigorous intensity exercise. Persons with unstable comorbidities may develop unexpected adverse events from exercise. For the purpose of participant safety, as well as because this study involves remote, home-based exercise where close supervision is not possible, participants with unstable medical conditions are excluded.
  • Support persons with severe psychiatric conditions such as Active Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, significant Suicidal ideation, and an active substance use and/or substance abuse disorder; these conditions can 1) adversely affect important cognitive test measures and 2) the ability to complete certain circumscribed interventions in the study.
  • Support persons receiving treatment for an active malignancy or are less than 10 years from the completion of any cancer treatment (exceptions are treatment for basal cell carcinoma). This is to preserve the "role" of the cancer survivor in the dyad.

Study Design

Enrollment

1528 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Arm 1: Virtually Supervised Care Comparator

  • Complete virtually supervised exercise sessions 3x weekly with their study partner.
  • Complete Mediterranean eating program coaching session 1x weekly.

experimental: Arm 2: Unsupervised Care

  • Receives exercise and diet intervention recommendations including 3x weekly workouts and healthy eating goals
  • Weekly recorded informative videos
  • 4x weekly supportive text messages
  • Study website access and interventional booklet

Interventions

Supervised Exercise and Diet Program

A home-based, virtually supervised, moderate-to-vigorous aerobic and resistance exercise intervention with a certified cancer exercise trainer. The exercise sessions will include aerobic exercise on a stationary bicycle and total-body resistance training using resistance bands. Stationary bicycle, resistance bands, activity tracking watch, and Wi-Fi enabled tablet (if needed) will be provided to participants. Dyads will receive remotely delivered nutrition coaching sessions (via telephone or video conferencing) with a health coach each week. Mediterranean eating pattern goals will be tracked using the journal feature of the My Wellness Research platform website.

Unsupervised Exercise and Diet Program

A home-based, unsupervised moderate-to-vigorous aerobic and resistance exercise intervention. The exercise sessions will include aerobic exercise on a stationary bicycle and total-body resistance training using resistance bands. Stationary bicycle, resistance bands, activity tracking watch will be provided to participants. Dyads will receive Mediterranean eating pattern goals, with an introductory session conducted by research staff. Diet intake will be tracked using the journal feature My Wellness Research platform website.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in Global Cognition [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Cognitive Function [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Physical Function (6-minute walk test) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change Physical Function (Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB]) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Physical Function (Timed-Up-And-Go (TUG) Test) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Physical Function (Gait Speed) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Physical Function (Sit-to-Stand Test) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Physical Function (Grip Strength) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Physical Function (Frailty) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Physical Function (Cardiorespiratory Fitness) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]
  • Change in Physical Function (Muscular Strength) [ Time Frame: From baseline (month 0) to month 6 (post-intervention) to month 12 (follow-up) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Recruiting

Miami, Florida, United States, 33136

Contacts

Loren Yavelberg, PhD

l.yavelberg@med.miami.edu

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215

Contacts

Principal Investigator:

Christina Dieli-Conwright, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Last update posted

Mar 2, 2026

Last verified

Jan, 2026

Keywords

  • Cancer Survivorship

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on 2026-03-02.