Weight Management and Health Behavior Intervention in Lowering Cancer Risk for BRCA Positive and Lynch Syndrome Families

HEALTH4Families: Optimizing a Weight Management and Health Behavior Intervention for BRCA+ and Lynch Syndrome Families

This trial studies how well weight management and health behavior intervention works in helping patients with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and Lynch syndrome mutation carriers lose or maintain a healthy weight and lower their risk for cancer. Lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity, diet, and weight management may play a key role in preventing cancers and improving outcomes even in those with hereditary cancer syndromes.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Lynch Syndrome; Hereditary Breast Carcinoma; Hereditary Ovarian Carcinoma
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionnaire Administration; Behavioral: Behavioral Dietary Intervention; Other: E-mail; Behavioral: Exercise Intervention; Other: Health Promotion and Education; Other: Internet-Based Intervention; Behavioral: Telephone-Based Intervention

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Identify the most effective intervention components for weight loss (primary outcome) and percent energy from fat, vegetable and fruit consumption, physical activity, and theory based behavioral determinants (secondary outcomes), with the goal of developing an optimized weight management intervention for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) and Lynch syndrome (LS) mutation carriers and their family members.

II. Identify the most effective intervention combination that could be delivered for a cost of $364 or less, which is the reimbursement level provided by Medicare for 6 months of intensive behavioral weight loss counseling.

III. Explore the effects of each component on weight loss, vegetable and fruit consumption, percent energy from fat, and physical activity 4 months after the end of the intervention.

IV. Evaluate whether the effects of the intervention components differ by mutation status, previous cancer diagnosis in the index participant, HBOC versus (vs) LS, family environment, and gender of index participant.

V. Pilot test the intervention in MD Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center, to determine the feasibility of providing the intervention components in a clinical setting.

OUTLINE:

Participants are randomized to 1 of 24 conditions, each comprising weight management and health behavior intervention with different combinations of 4 components for 16 weeks. The 4 components are: telephone coaching vs email coaching vs no coaching, text messages vs no text messages, self-monitoring 4-7 days a week vs 1 day per week, and a family team intervention vs none.

TELEPHONE COACHING: Participants receive 1 phone call each week from a coach over 30-45 minutes to discuss diet, physical activity and goal setting.

EMAIL COACHING: Participants receive 1 phone call to discuss the process over 10-15 minutes and then receive 1 email each week for 16 weeks.

NO COACHING: Participants receive 1 phone call the first week over 10-15 minutes to discuss the process.

TEXT MESSAGING: Participants receive 7-12 text messages comprising information about diet and physical activity each week for 16 weeks.

SELF-MONITORING: Participants record their food intake and weight directly into the Fitbit website or application 4-7 days each week or 1 day each week for 16 weeks.

FAMILY TEAM INTERVENTION: Participants (patients and their family members) receive 2 group phone calls and join a Facebook group that is monitored by research staff where they can interact with each other and coaches. The Facebook group includes weekly updates on team progress, weekly family challenges and live online chats with a dietitian and exercise expert.

After completion of study, patients are followed up at 4 and 8 months.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 384
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • M D Anderson Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• HEALTH4Families only: Positive for either HBOC or LS predisposing mutations OR a family member of a mutation carrier (family members do not need to be biological relatives).
• HEALTH4Families only: Index participant ONLY: Must have at least one family member who is eligible and consents to participation.

• Have at least one of the following risk factors:

  • Body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher
  • < 5 servings of vegetables and fruits per day
  • < 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity activity
  • 75 minutes per week of vigorous intensity activity
• Able to read and write English.
• Have a cellular telephone and are able and willing to send and receive text messages.
• Access to internet via desktop or mobile device.
• Capable of participating in moderate-vigorous unsupervised exercise.
• HEALTH4CPC only: Patient in MD Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center coming in to the clinic for one of the following appointment types: consult and new patient screening appointments
• HEALTH4CPC only: Female.
• HEALTH4CPC only: Lives in the Houston area or surrounding counties (within 150 miles of MD Anderson's main campus).
• HEALTH4CPC only: Has a smartphone.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable to walk without crutches, walker, cane, or other assistive device.
• Women who are pregnant or nursing (by self-report).
• Currently receiving radiation therapy or cytotoxic chemotherapy.
• Within 3 months of major surgery.
• Does not live in the United States.
• HEALTH4CPC only: Persons diagnosed with any invasive cancer excluding non-melanoma skin cancer.
• HEALTH4CPC only: Patient at high risk for cancer.
• HEALTH4CPC only: Participated in the HEALTH 4 MD Anderson pilot study (protocol 2014-0230).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Prevention (weight management, health behavior intervention); Participants undergo weight management and health behavior intervention with a combination of 4 components for 16 weeks. TELEPHONE COACHING: Participants receive 1 phone call each week from a coach over 30-45 minutes to discuss diet, physical activity and goal setting. EMAIL COACHING: Participants receive 1 phone call to discuss the process over 10-15 minutes and then receive 1 email each week for 16 weeks. NO COACHING: Participants receive 1 phone call the first week over 10-15 minutes to discuss the process. TEXT MESSAGING: Participants receive 7-12 text messages comprising information about diet and physical activity each week for 16 weeks. SELF-MONITORING: Participants record their food intake and weight directly into the Fitbit website or application 4-7 days each week or 1 day each week for 16 weeks. FAMILY TEAM INTERVENTION: Participants receive 2 group phone calls and join a Facebook group that is monitored by research staff where they can interact with each other and coaches.

Other: Questionnaire Administration; Ancillary studies; Behavioral: Behavioral Dietary Intervention; Record food intake; Other: E-mail; Receive e-mails; Other Names: Electronic Mail; Email; Behavioral: Exercise Intervention; Undergo exercise; Other: Health Promotion and Education; Receive text messages; Other: Internet-Based Intervention; Join Facebook page; Behavioral: Telephone-Based Intervention; Receive telephone coaching

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percent weight loss	The data from the proposed factorial experiment will be analyzed through analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. The outcome variable is the percent weight loss of each participant at 4 months. The fixed covariates include indicator variables for all intervention components. The model includes a random intercept that introduces within-family correlation. The main effect of each intervention component will be tested in an F-test at alpha = 0.0125 level. The pairwise interactions of the intervention components will be studied in an exploratory fashion. The optimal intervention is defined to be the combination of the four components that produces the best percent weight loss result within the resource constraints. Data can also be analyzed jointly in a linear mixed model that includes intervention components and time as fixed effect, family as random intercept and longitudinal correlation between 4 and 8 month data.	Baseline to 4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fruit and vegetable consumption	The data from the proposed factorial experiment will be analyzed through ANOVA with repeated measures. The fixed covariates include indicator variables for all intervention components. The model includes a random intercept that introduces within-family correlation. The main effect of each intervention component will be tested in an F-test at alpha = 0.0125 level. Similar ANOVA analysis will be conducted for the 8 month outcome to study whether the intervention effect persists 4 months after the end of the intervention. The 4- and 8-month data can also be analyzed jointly in a linear mixed model that includes intervention components and time as fixed effect, family as random intercept and longitudinal correlation between 4 and 8 month data.	Up to 8 months
Percent energy from fat	The data from the proposed factorial experiment will be analyzed through ANOVA with repeated measures. The fixed covariates include indicator variables for all intervention components. The model includes a random intercept that introduces within-family correlation. The main effect of each intervention component will be tested in an F-test at alpha = 0.0125 level. Similar ANOVA analysis will be conducted for the 8 month outcome to study whether the intervention effect persists 4 months after the end of the intervention. The 4- and 8-month data can also be analyzed jointly in a linear mixed model that includes intervention components and time as fixed effect, family as random intercept and longitudinal correlation between 4 and 8 month data.	Up to 8 months
Physical activity	The data from the proposed factorial experiment will be analyzed through ANOVA with repeated measures. The fixed covariates include indicator variables for all intervention components. The model includes a random intercept that introduces within-family correlation. The main effect of each intervention component will be tested in an F-test at alpha = 0.0125 level. Similar ANOVA analysis will be conducted for the 8 month outcome to study whether the intervention effect persists 4 months after the end of the intervention. The 4- and 8-month data can also be analyzed jointly in a linear mixed model that includes intervention components and time as fixed effect, family as random intercept and longitudinal correlation between 4 and 8 month data.	Up to 8 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Karen M Basen-Engquist, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• MD Anderson Cancer Center Website

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 26, 2017
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 6, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 11, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): October 14, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 13, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Genetic Diseases, Inborn; Metabolic Diseases; Intestinal Diseases; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Colorectal Neoplasms; Intestinal Neoplasms; Colonic Diseases; Neoplastic Syndromes, Hereditary; DNA Repair-Deficiency Disorders; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis; Breast Cancer, Familial; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services; Preventive Health Services; Socioeconomic Factors; Population Characteristics; Health Education; Educational Status; Health Promotion
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2016-0775 (Other Identifier: M D Anderson Cancer Center); NCI-2019-02453 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No