A Mixed-Methods Metabolomics Investigation of Lifestyle and Energy Balance During Breast Cancer Survivorship (MILES)

June 16, 2026 updated by: Oluwadamilola Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS, Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine

The MILES Study: A Mixed-Methods Metabolomics Investigation of Lifestyle and Energy Balance During Breast Cancer Survivorship

The MILES Study is a longitudinal, mixed-methods investigation of urinary biomarkers, energy balance, and lifestyle modifications in diverse women during early breast cancer treatment. The study's overarching goal is to assess dietary quality and physical activity changes over time using reliable, scalable tools suitable for clinical or population settings, supporting newly diagnosed patients in adopting and maintaining healthy behaviors through treatment and survivorship.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Quantitative intervention: The study team will recruit adult women (age 18 years or older), who can read English or Spanish, have received a new diagnosis of breast cancer (stage 0-III) in the past 60 days, and have been scheduled to consult with a Penn surgeon.

Among a sample of 100 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, the study team will collect novel lifestyle behavior data across three time points-at diagnosis, 1 month after surgery, and 6 months after surgery. Surveys will evaluate dietary quality, physical activity, tobacco use, demographic and socio-economic/occupation factors and perspectives about participation in biomedical/biospecimen research. The study team will also collect the first urine of the day from these volunteers on the same day that they complete the lifestyle questionnaires. The urine will be used for metabolomics testing via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and will be correlated with the survey data.

Qualitative intervention: Among a subset of 50 women, the study team will conduct semi-structured interviews at baseline and at follow-up to answer the following research questions:

  1. What structural and interpersonal factors influence the adoption and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle after diagnosis and after each phase of treatment?
  2. What is the role of financial hardship on lifestyle behaviors after diagnosis?
  3. How do lifestyle behaviors change after surgery or systematic therapy?
  4. What are the barriers/facilitators to participation in urine biospecimen donation?
  5. Identify patient-identified strategies that would facilitate more effective translation and dissemination of lifestyle data for patients
  6. Promote or increase usability and promote behavior change?
  7. What modalities of metabolomics-based intervention delivery are best
  8. What is the optimal timing for intervention?

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • Recruiting
        • Abamson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Margaret Pichardo, MD

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:

  • Adult women (age 18 years or older)
  • Able to read English or Spanish
  • Newly diagnosed with primary stage 0, I, II, or III breast cancer
  • Pathological diagnosis within the previous 60 days
  • Scheduled to have surgery with a Penn Medicine surgeon

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Women age less than 18 years
  • Women without a new primary breast cancer diagnosis
  • Women who are pregnant

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Newly diagnosed women with breast cancer
Among a sample of 100 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer, the study aims to collect novel lifestyle behavior data across three time points-at diagnosis, 1 month after surgery, and 6 months after surgery. Surveys will evaluate dietary quality, physical activity, tobacco use, demographic and socio-economic/occupation factors and perspectives about participation in biomedical/biospecimen research. The study will also collect the first urine of the day from these volunteers on the same day that they complete the lifestyle questionnaires. The urine will be used for metabolomics testing via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and will be correlated with the survey data.
Other: Survey completion
Surveys will evaluate dietary quality, physical activity, tobacco use, demographic and socio-economic/occupation factors and perspectives about participation in biomedical/biospecimen research.
Other: Urine specimen banking
The study team will collect the first urine of the day from these volunteers on the same day that they complete the lifestyle questionnaires. The urine will be used for metabolomics testing via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and will be correlated with the survey data.
Other: Qualitative interviews
After the survey and urine specimen have been received, participants will be scheduled for online or in-person semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted at baseline (either before or after surgery, but not both for the same individual) and at follow up.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in lifestyle behavior score based
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 month, 6 months
A composite score for lifestyle behavior change consistent with the 2020 American Cancer Society (ACS) nutrition and physical activity guidelines for cancer survivors. Individual guideline components are measured as follows: Diet and alcohol intake are measured with the ASA24 dietary recall screener (a gold standard instrument) and a novel dietary screener (English/Spanish versions) instruments. Physical activity is evaluated using the Modified Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). Obesity is evaluated using self-reported height and weight and derived from clinical records. The composite lifestyle score will range from 0 to 8, with higher scores indicated greater adherence to the ACS lifestyle guidelines for cancer prevention.
Baseline, 1 month, 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Metabolites
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 month, 6 months
Urinary-based metabolites
Baseline, 1 month, 6 months
Participation in biomedical research
Time Frame: Baseline
A set of questions developed by Barrett et al 2020 will be used to captures participant's Willingness to participate in future research that involves specimen donation and bio banking. This is a non-standardized tool developed from qualitative interviews. Descriptive statistics capturing the % of participants reporting yes, no or don't know will be reported.
Baseline
Financial hardship
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 month, 6 months
Financial hardship is evaluated using a set of questions developed by Nielsen et al. (Surgical Oncology, 2023). The proportion of participants reporting financial hardship will be reported.
Baseline, 1 month, 6 months
Satisfaction with novel dietary screener
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 month, 6 months
Satisfaction with novel dietary screener. This is a non-standardized instrument to evaluate satisfaction with English/Spanish dietary screeners tools. The proportion of participants reporting satisfaction with the screeners will be reported.
Baseline, 1 month, 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine

Collaborators

Penn State University

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)

January 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 19, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UPCC 11125
  • 858572 (Other Identifier: University of Pennsylvania IRB)

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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