Halt Aging in Survivors of Blood Cancers (HALTAging-1)

May 12, 2026 updated by: University of Nebraska

Halt Aging in Survivors of Blood Cancers: the HALTAging-1 Study

Older survivors of blood cancer are at a high risk of accelerated biological aging, which increases their risk of developing multiple aging-related conditions. Whereas physical exercise can improve overall health, older cancer survivors do not meet the recommended physical activity, highlighting the need to develop behavioral interventions to increase adherence. Several other knowledge gaps exist to implement exercise interventions in older survivors of blood cancer; the dose and duration of exercise necessary to slow biological aging in older blood cancer survivors remain unknown. To bridge these gaps in knowledge, we have designed a Phase 2 randomized control trial to test the effects of behavioral and exercise interventions on various outcomes.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

180

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Nebraska
      • Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68008
        • Recruiting
        • University of Nebraska Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Vijaya Bhatt, MBBS
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age ≥50 years
  2. A history of hematological malignancy
  3. Participants must be able to and willingly give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients receiving intensive induction or consolidation chemotherapy. Maintenance chemotherapy, or lower-intensity chemotherapy for an indolent hematological malignancy is allowed.
  2. Neurodegenerative disease (e.g. Alzheimer's dementia), stroke, or uncontrolled psychotic disorders (e.g. schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) in the past 3 months if those disorders are considered significant enough to impair participation in the study.
  3. Illnesses such as clinical evidence of decompensated heart failure, unstable angina, or orthopedic or neuromuscular disorders that could limit safe participation in aerobic exercise.
  4. Cardiopulmonary exercise test results that preclude safe exercise (e.g., life-threatening arrhythmia, balance difficulties, peak VO2 <10 ml/kg/min).
  5. Estimated life expectancy of less than 6 months (that precludes assessment of study primary endpoint).
  6. Self-reported pregnancy or the possibility of pregnancy.
  7. Participants who do not plan to follow up at the participating center.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention Arm: Exercise + Behavioral Coaching
Intervention arm incorporating virtually supervised moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and behavioral intervention/coaching to improve adherence
Behavioral: Behavioral Coaching Intervention
Intervention arm incorporating virtually supervised moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and behavioral intervention/coaching to improve adherence
Behavioral: Virtual Exercise Platform
Access to a virtual exercise platform that provides exercise classes and educational sessions for older survivors of blood cancer
Active Comparator: Enhanced Usual Care-Virtual Gym
Participants will receive access to a virtual exercise platform, and educational sessions but will not receive behavioral coaching
Behavioral: Virtual Exercise Platform
Access to a virtual exercise platform that provides exercise classes and educational sessions for older survivors of blood cancer

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percentage of participants who adhered to the exercise regimen at 6-months post enrollment.
Time Frame: 6 Months from start of program
Participants achieving at least 120 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, measured using Polar heart rate monitor data and exercise diaries.
6 Months from start of program
Percentage of participants who adhered to the exercise regimen at 12-months post enrollment.
Time Frame: 12 Months from start of program.
Participants achieving at least 120 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, measured using Polar heart rate monitor data and exercise diaries to assess sustainability of adherence.
12 Months from start of program.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Physical Function (6- Minute Walk Test Distance)
Time Frame: 6 months from randomization
Distance covered during the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) to assess physical function.
6 months from randomization

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Physical Function Maximal Oxygen Consumption (VO₂ max)
Time Frame: 6 months from randomization
Maximal oxygen consumption measured during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)
6 months from randomization
Neuro-QOL Cognition Function Short Form Score
Time Frame: 6 months from randomization
Subjective cognitive function assessed using the Neuro-QOL v2.0 Cognition Function Short Form
6 months from randomization
Trail Making Test Performance
Time Frame: 6 months from randomization
Cognitive function assessed using Trail Making Test Parts A and B (TMT-A and TMT-B).
6 months from randomization
Controlled Oral Word Association Test Performance
Time Frame: 6 months from randomization
Cognitive function assessed using the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT).
6 months from randomization
EORTC QLQ-C30 Score
Time Frame: 6 months from randomization
Health-related quality of life assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), version 3.0.
6 months from randomization
EQ-5D-5L Score
Time Frame: 6 months from randomization
Health-related quality of life assessed using the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) instrument.
6 months from randomization
Biological Age by Epigenetic Clock
Time Frame: 6 months from randomization
Change in biological age assessed using epigenetic clock biomarkers based on DNA methylation analysis.
6 months from randomization

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Nebraska

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Vijaya Raj Bhatt, MBBS,MS, University of Nebraska

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 9, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 25, 2032

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 25, 2033

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 5, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 5, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

December 18, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 12, 2026

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 606-25-FB

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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