Researching the Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cancer

Exercise as Interception Therapy: A "Proof-of-Concept" Digitized Trail

This study is being done to answer the following question: Will aerobic exercise (exercise that stimulates and strengthens the heart and lungs, and improves the body's use of oxygen) change the biomarkers (signs of disease) found in the blood?

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: exercise (walking); Other: blood draw; Other: plasma samples

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 38
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
      • University of California, Los Angeles (Data or Specimen Analysis Only)
  • Colorado
    • Boulder, Colorado, United States, 80301
      • SOMALOGIC (Data or Specimen Analysis Only)
  • New Jersey
    • Middletown, New Jersey, United States, 07748
      • Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth
    • Montvale, New Jersey, United States, 07645
      • Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen
  • New York
    • Commack, New York, United States, 11725
      • Memorial Sloan Kettering Commack
    • Harrison, New York, United States, 10604
      • Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester
    • New York, New York, United States, 10065
      • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
    • Uniondale, New York, United States, 11553
      • Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau
  • North Carolina
    • Burlington, North Carolina, United States, 27215
      • LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA HOLDINGS (Data or Specimen Analysis Only)
    • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27701
      • Duke University Medical Center (Data or Specimen Analysis Only)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Cohort 1: CH

• CH called by MSK practices as documented by an MSK physician
• Age ≥18 yrs
• Completion of all anticancer therapy

• High risk of cardiovascular disease defined by presence of at least one of the following:

  • Age ≥60
  • Prior treatment with chemotherapy
  • Prior left-sided breast and/or chest wall radiotherapy
  • Currently receiving or previously received androgen deprivation therapy Prior bone marrow transplant
  • History of smoking
  • Currently treated for one or more cardiovascular risk factors (i.e., hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia)
• Performing less than 150 minutes of structured moderate-intensity or strenuous-intensity exercise per week, as evaluated by self-report
• Willingness to comply with all study-related procedures

Cohort 2: Solid Tumor

• Patients at risk of harboring circulating tumor DNA as defined by one of the following:

  • Histologically confirmed stage III (i.e., high risk of recurrence) colorectal cancer within 2 years of completion of all adjuvant therapy.
  • Histologically confirmed stage III breast cancer with residual disease after neoadjuvant therapy and within 12 months of completing (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy
  • Patients with metastatic breast cancer and radiographic stable disease or NED for ≥6 months and not currently receiving chemotherapy (endocrine therapy and anti-HER2 antibodies allowed)
• Age ≥ 18 yrs
• Performing less than 150 minutes of structured moderate-intensity or strenuous-intensity exercise per week, as evaluated by self-report
• Willingness to comply with all study-related procedures

Cohort 3: Active Surveillance

• Men with histologically confirmed localized prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance
• Age ≥ 18 yrs
• Performing less than 15 minutes of structured moderate-intensity or strenuous-intensity exercise per week, as evaluated by self-report
• Willingness to comply with all study-related procedures
• Cleared for exercise participation as per pre-screening clearance via PAR-Q+

Cohort 4: Lynch Syndrome

• Age ≥18 yrs
• Hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome, specifically Lynch syndrome, defined by the presence of a deleterious germline mutation in the MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2 or EPCAM genes
• Have a portion of the distal colon or rectosigmoid intact to enable collection of normal mucosa biopsies
• Performing less than 150 minutes of structured moderate-intensity or strenuous-intensity exercise per week, as evaluated by self-report
• Willingness to comply with all study-related procedures
• Cleared for exercise participation as per pre-screening clearance via PAR-Q+

Cohort 5: EDD Phase 0a

• Age ≥18 yrs
• Receiving investigational agent under an EDD protocol for at least 2 months.
• Performing less than 150 minutes of structured moderate-intensity or strenuous-intensity exercise per week, as evaluated by self-report
• Willingness to comply with all study-related procedures
• Cleared for exercise participation as per pre-screening clearance via PAR-Q+

Phase 0b

• Age ≥18 yrs
• Newly Within 3 months of initiating investigational agent on an EDD Service protocol
• Performing less than 150 minutes of structured moderate-intensity or strenuous-intensity exercise per week, as evaluated by self-report
• Willingness to comply with all study-related procedures
• Cleared for exercise participation as per pre-screening clearance via PAR-Q+

Exclusion Criteria:

• Concurrent use of any form of antitumor therapy (endocrine therapy and anti-HER2 antibodies allowed)
• Enrollment onto any other interventional investigational study except interventions determined by the PI not to confound study outcomes (does not apply to Cohort 5: EDD)
• Any other condition or intercurrent illness that, in the opinion of the investigator, makes the subject a poor candidate for study participation.
• Mental impairment leading to inability to cooperate

• Any of the following contraindications to cardiopulmonary exercise testing (Cohorts 1 and 2 only):

  1. Acute myocardial infarction within 3-5 days of any planned study procedures;
  2. Unstable angina
  3. Uncontrolled arrhythmia causing symptoms or hemodynamic compromise
  4. Recurrent syncope
  5. Active endocarditis
  6. Acute myocarditis or pericarditis
  7. Symptomatic severe aortic stenosis
  8. Uncontrolled heart failure
  9. Acute pulmonary embolus or pulmonary infarction within 3 months of any planned study procedures
  10. Thrombosis of lower extremities within 3 months of any planned study procedures
  11. Suspected dissecting aneurysm
  12. Uncontrolled asthma
  13. Pulmonary edema
  14. Respiratory failure
  15. Acute non-cardiopulmonary disorders that may affect exercise performance
• Room air desaturation at rest ≤ 85% (Cohorts 1 and 2 only)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

5

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: patients with clonal hematopoiesis; Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. Patients in all cohorts will receive one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service	Behavioral: exercise (walking); Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. This trial will evaluate one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service; Other: blood draw; fasting blood
Experimental: post treatment patients with breast or colorectal cancer; Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. Patients in all cohorts will receive one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service	Behavioral: exercise (walking); Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. This trial will evaluate one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service; Other: blood draw; fasting blood; Other: plasma samples; Plasma samples will be obtained at baseline.
Experimental: men with localized prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance; Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. Patients in all cohorts will receive one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service	Behavioral: exercise (walking); Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. This trial will evaluate one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service; Other: blood draw; fasting blood; Other: plasma samples; Plasma samples will be obtained at baseline.
Experimental: Individuals with Lynch Syndrome; Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. Patients in all cohorts will receive one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service	Behavioral: exercise (walking); Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. This trial will evaluate one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service; Other: blood draw; fasting blood; Other: plasma samples; Plasma samples will be obtained at baseline.
Experimental: Individuals enrolled on Early Drug Development (EDD) trials; Participants will receive structured exercise therapy for 24 weeks. Participants will be followed by standard of care clinical follow-up	Behavioral: exercise (walking); Exercise treatment will consist of individualized walking delivered up to 5 times weekly. This trial will evaluate one dose of exercise (i.e., ~300 mins/wk following a non-linear dosing schedule) in both cohorts. Patients will have the option to receive exercise treatment at MSK or at their residence. Home-based exercise will be implemented and monitored using a telemedicine approach (i.e.,TeleEx) established in the Exercise-Oncology (ExOnc) Service

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
number of patients with variant allele frequency (VAF)	measured by targeted CH panel in peripheral blood	2 years
changes in residual tumor burden (Solid tumor group)	measured by the amount of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)	2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Collaborators: University of California, Los Angeles; Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jessica Scott, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 20, 2019
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 20, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 21, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): June 24, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 17, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 16, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Aerobic Exercise; 19-126
• Other Study ID Numbers: 19-126

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center supports the international committee of medical journal editors (ICMJE) and the ethical obligation of responsible sharing of data from clinical trials. The protocol summary, a statistical summary, and informed consent form will be made available on clinicaltrials.gov when required as a condition of Federal awards, other agreements supporting the research and/or as otherwise required. Requests for deidentified individual participant data can be made beginning 12 months after publication and for up to 36 months post publication. Deidentified individual participant data reported in the manuscript will be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement and may only be used for approved proposals. Requests may be made to: crdatashare@mskcc.org.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No