Overview
Chemotherapy is an effective breast cancer treatment, which helped to increase the 5-year survival rate to approximately 95%. However, breast cancer survivors have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to chemotherapy than adults without cancer. Cardiovascular rehabilitation can be an effective strategy to decrease the incidence of CVD and its risk factors in this population. The proposed study may help to examine the effect and durability of a novel high-intensity interval training compared to moderate-intensity continuous training on cardiovascular rehabilitation in breast cancer survivors.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- female patients based on biological sex
- 18 to 85 years of age
- diagnosis of primary, invasive, non-metastatic, stages I-III breast cancer
- completed chemotherapy for breast cancer (anthracycline, alkylating agent and/or taxane) more than 6 months but less than 12 months prior to study enrollment
- absence of contraindications to exercise or to participate in study
- study clinician approval
Exclusion Criteria:
- do not meet inclusion criteria
- completed chemotherapy and/or other cancer treatment (i.e., surgery or radiation) within past 6 months. Adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer (e.g., ovarian suppression, SERMs, SERDs, AIs), CDK4/6 inhibitors, PARP inhibitors, HER2 targeted agents, immunotherapy, and bisphosphonates are allowed within 6 months of study enrollment
- scheduled to receive surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy during the study period. Adjuvant endocrine therapy, CDK4/6 inhibitors, PARP inhibitors, HER2 targeted agents, immunotherapy, and bisphosphonates are allowed during study participation.
- lymphedema stage ≥2 prior to study enrollment
- any relevant cardiovascular diseases (stroke, heart failure, myocardial ischemia during maximal graded exercise test, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty or coronary stent)
- are pregnant
- current participation in other experimental interventions that may confound interpretation of study findings (e.g., dietary intervention for weight loss)
- consistent participation over the past 6 months in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise training for ≥150 min/week