Alternative Exercise Program to Improve Skeletal Muscle Function and Fatigue in Cancer Survivors
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Breast Cancer
- Sponsor
- University of Vermont
- Enrollment
- 22
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Cross-sectional Area of Skeletal Muscle Fibers
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 3 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
Exercise training has beneficial effects in cancer survivors to minimize some of the side effects of cancer and its treatment and improve long-term prognosis, but there are numerous hurdles for individuals diagnosed with, and being treated for, cancer to participate in exercise programs. The goal of this research study is to begin to evaluate whether exercise training via neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has beneficial effects on skeletal muscle size and function in cancer survivors.
Investigators
Michael J. Toth, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Vermont
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •stage I, II or III breast cancer
- •receiving neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiation
- •a body mass index \<35 kg/m2.
Exclusion Criteria
- •metastatic disease, a prior history of cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, or prior receipt of chemotherapy
- •autoimmune, vascular or neuromuscular disease that could alter skeletal muscle
- •prior knee or hip replacement
- •contraindications for use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation, including an implanted cardiac defibrillator or pacemaker, lower extremity blood clot or coagulopathy
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Cross-sectional Area of Skeletal Muscle Fibers
Time Frame: Difference between values at baseline at 2 months
Cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle fibers will be evaluated using immunohistochemistry, with specification of all relevant muscle fiber types
Intermyofibrillar Mitochondrial Content
Time Frame: Difference between values at baseline at 2 months
Area fraction of intermyofibrillar mitochondria will be assessed by electron microscopy
Maximal Calcium-activated Tension Single Muscle Fiber Tension
Time Frame: Difference between values at baseline at 2 months
Tension (force per unit muscle fiber cross-sectional area) from segments of chemically-skinned single human muscle fibers will be assessed under maximal calcium-activated condition, with muscle fiber type determined post-measurement by gel electrophoresis
Secondary Outcomes
- Single Muscle Fiber Contractile Velocity(Difference between values at baseline at 2 months)