When is the best time to exercise during breast cancer treatment?
NCT ID NCT01943695
First seen Jul 10, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026
Summary
This trial looks at whether supervised aerobic exercise is more beneficial when done during chemotherapy or after it ends for women with early-stage breast cancer. Participants are randomly assigned to exercise during treatment, after treatment, or to receive only educational materials. The goal is to see which timing best improves physical fitness, quality of life, and sleep.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Aerobic exercise training
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could show the best time to start exercise during breast cancer treatment to improve heart and lung fitness and quality of life.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial, so results may not apply to all patients. Exercise during chemotherapy may be harder for some women to complete.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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144 people
The number who actually took part.
- Start date
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Jan 2013
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 to 80 years
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 21-80 years * Female * MSK histologically confirmed early-stage operable breast cancer * Scheduled to receive chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting * ECOG status of 0 or 1 * Performing less than 150 minutes of structured moderate-intensity or strenuous intensity exercise per week * If a female of child-bearing potential, must not be pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study. a. Women \< 50 years old must have a negative pregnancy test (urine HCG or serum βHCG) within 2 weeks of beginning chemotherapy. * Able to complete an acceptable baseline cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), in the absence of high risk ECG findings or other inappropriate response to exercise as determined by the investigator. * Able to achieve an acceptable peak baseline CPET, as defined by any of the following criteria: * Achieving a plateau in oxygen consumption, concurrent with an increase in power output; * A respiratory exchange ratio ≥ 1.10; * Attainment of maximal predicted heart rate (HRmax) (i.e., within 10 bpm of age-predicted HRmax \[HRmax = 220-Age\[years\]); * Volitional exhaustion, as measured by a rating of perceived exertion (RPE) ≥ 18 on the BORG scale. * Willingness to be randomized to one of the study arms Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of any other concurrent, actively treated malignancy * History of any other malignancy treated within the past 3 years (other than non-melanoma skin cancer) * Presence of metastatic disease * Any of the following contraindications to cardiopulmonary exercise testing: * Acute myocardial infarction within 3-5 days of any planned study procedures) * Unstable angina * Uncontrolled arrhythmia causing symptoms or hemodynamic compromise; * Recurrent syncope * Active endocarditis * Acute myocarditis or pericarditis * Symptomatic severe aortic stenosis * Uncontrolled heart failure * Acute pulmonary embolus or pulmonary infarction within 3 months of any planned study procedures; * Thrombosis of lower extremities * Suspected dissecting aneurysm * Uncontrolled asthma * Pulmonary edema * Respiratory failure * Acute non-cardiopulmonary disorders that may affect exercise performance or be aggravated by exercise (i.e., infection, renal failure, thyrotoxicosis) or * Room air desaturation at rest ≤ 85% * Mental impairment leading to inability to cooperate. * Any other condition or intercurrent illness that, in the opinion of the investigator, makes the participant a poor candidate for the trial
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10065, United States
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