ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT02112149Updated Jul 13, 2016

Effect of the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA Exercise Program on Cancer Related Outcomes in Cancer Survivors

A Phase 3 interventional study of LIVESTRONG in Breast Cancer, sponsored by Yale University. Completed at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2016-07-13.

Sponsored by Yale University · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
200
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The proposed study is a randomized trial evaluating the impact of the 12-week LIVESTRONG exercise program vs. waitlist control on cancer-related outcomes in 200 cancer survivors.

Read the detailed description

The proposed study is a randomized trial evaluating the impact of the 12-week LIVESTRONG exercise program vs. waitlist control on cancer-related outcomes in 200 cancer survivors. Participants will undergo baseline testing at Dana-Farber or Yale, including administration of questionnaires to assess quality of life and the presence of cancer and treatment-related symptoms, fasting blood draw, and evaluation of body composition (using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Participants will then take part in the 12-week LIVESTRONG Program or will be assigned to a wait-list control group. All measurements will be repeated at Dana-Farber or Yale after the 12-week exercise program or control period.

02

Conditions studied

  • Breast Cancer

Keywords

  • Body Composition
  • Exercise
  • Survivorship
03

In context

Breast Neoplasms

12,820 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Neoplasms; 2,920 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 200 is above the median of 72 across 9,494 interventional studies indexed under Breast Neoplasms.

Browse Breast Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

Yale University is the lead sponsor of 1,763 studies on the registry; 292 are open to participants now.

Of its 217 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 128 (59%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Cancer diagnosis excluding non-melanoma skin cancer
  • Physically able to exercise
  • Able to complete forms and understand instructions in English
  • Agrees to be randomly assigned to either exercise or wait-list control group
  • Willing and able to attend one of the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA programs for 12 weeks
  • Willing and able to complete the baseline and 3-month clinic visits

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • > 80 years of age
  • \< 18 years of age
  • Recent (past 6 months) stroke/myocardial infarction or congestive heart failure/documented ejection fraction \< 40%
  • Plans to undergo a major surgical procedure in the next 6 months
  • Presence of dementia or major psychiatric disease that would preclude participation in a group-based exercise program
  • Pregnant women or women intending to become pregnant
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Investigator)
Enrollment
200 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    LIVESTRONG Program

    Participants randomized to the LIVESTRONG exercise program will attend a 12-week LIVESTRONG Program at one of the participating YMCA's in the greater Boston area or CT. We will have monthly teleconferences to discuss the study, recruitment, and the exercise program. Lastly, throughout the 12-week program, participants will record their attendance at the LIVESTRONG program as well as any exercise done outside of the program. We will provide them with a Physical Activity Log book to record their exercise.

    Behavioral: LIVESTRONG

  • No intervention
    Wait-List Control

    Baseline data will be collected from all study participants before randomization. If a participant is randomized to wait-list control, then he/she will be told that he/she will start the LIVESTRONG program after three months and after he/she returns to Yale or DFCI to complete the 3-month clinic visit.

Interventions

  • BehavioralLIVESTRONG

    The LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a twelve-week, small group (\< 16 participants) program designed for adult cancer survivors. YMCA fitness instructors work with each participant to fit the program to their individual needs. The instructors are trained in the elements of cancer, post rehabilitation exercise and supportive cancer care. There are two YMCA fitness instructors overseeing each exercise session. Each session is 90 min in duration, twice per week, for 12-wks (total of 24 sessions). Each session begins with a warm-up, then aerobic exercise (e.g., treadmill) and resistance training exercises, followed by a cool-down period, and follows the recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Physical Activity Level

    Modifiable Physical Activity Questionnaire will be used to assess physical activity levels at baseline and 3-months to examine whether the LIVESTRONG program led to maintenance or further increases in physical activity levels compared with participants randomized to control.

    Time frame: 3 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Body Fat Percentage

    Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans will be used to assess body fat percentage, lean body mass, and bone mineral density at baseline and 3-months. Study participants will receive a copy of their 3-month DEXA report.

    Time frame: 3 months

  2. Change in Lean Body Mass

    Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans will be used to assess body fat percentage, lean body mass, and bone mineral density at baseline and 3-months. Study participants will receive a copy of their 3-month DEXA report.

    Time frame: 3 months

  3. Change in Bone Mineral Density

    Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans will be used to assess body fat percentage, lean body mass, and bone mineral density at baseline and 3-months. Study participants will receive a copy of their 3-month DEXA report.

    Time frame: 3 months

  4. Change in Body Mass Index (BMI)

    Height and weight will be measured at baseline and 3-months. Participants will be weighed in light indoor clothing, without shoes, rounding up to the nearest 0.1 kg; height will be measured without shoes, using a stadiometer, rounding up to the nearest 0.1 cm. BMI will be calculated using the formula: kg/m2. All measures will be performed and recorded twice in succession.

    Time frame: 3 months

  5. Change in Blood Biomarkers

    Fasting blood (\> 12 hours) will be collected at baseline and 12 weeks for measurement of insulin, c-reactive protein, leptin and adiponectin, which are biomarkers that have been linked to cancer prognosis in prior studies.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

Other outcomes

  1. Change in Walk Distance

    All participants will undergo a 6MWT at baseline and after the 12-week protocol period. Participants will wear tennis shoes and will walk indoors along a long, flat, straight, enclosed corridor, on a flat surface for 6 minutes. They will be instructed to walk continuously along an area at least 50 feet in length, back and forth, for 6 minutes.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  2. Change in Quality of Life

    Quality of Life (QOL) will be measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) questionnaire (version 3) as well as the PROMISE Q. Breast cancer survivors will also complete the FACT-B-ES form that assesses endocrine-related symptoms specific to breast cancer. Additionally, fatigue will be assessed through the FACT-Fatigue Scale, which consists of 13 items designed to assess fatigue in terms of its intensity and interference with performing everyday functions.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  3. Lymphedema Questionnaire

    Breast cancer survivors will complete a validated Norman Lymphedema Questionnaire. Previous methodologically strong studies have shown exercise, including upper body resistance/strength training, to decrease the risk of exacerbation of lymphedema as well as severity of lymphedema symptoms in breast cancer survivors randomized to a twice-weekly year long strength training program compared with breast cancer survivors randomized to control. Given these findings, breast cancer survivors with lymphedema will not be excluded from participation in the study. However, MD consent to exercise will be obtained from her oncologist.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  4. Change in Breast Cancer Prevention Trial Symptom Checklist

    The Breast Cancer Prevention Trial Symptom Checklist Short Form is a symptom checklist that will be completed by all study participants at baseline and 3-months to assess side effects/symptoms related to cancer surgery and treatment and how exercise may improve or prevent some of these symptoms. Symptoms such as lymphedema, neuropathy, and arthralgias will be assessed.

    Time frame: 3 months

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • Yale University
    New Haven, Connecticut 06519, United States
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
    Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
08

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Feb 2013, a primary completion of Dec 2015 and a completion of Dec 2015. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Apr 9, 2014
First posted
Apr 11, 2014
Start
Feb 2013
Primary completionActual
Dec 2015
CompletionActual
Dec 2015
Last update
Jul 13, 2016
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 13, 2016, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02112149
Lead sponsor
Yale University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 11, 2014
Start date
Feb 2013
Primary completion
Dec 2015
Completion
Dec 2015
Last update
Jul 13, 2016

Study contacts

Melinda L Irwin, PhD, MPH
principal investigator · Yale University
Jennifer A Ligibel, MD
principal investigator · Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2016. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion