The following is a summary of “Randomized Trial of Exercise and Nutrition on Chemotherapy Completion and Pathologic Complete Response in Women With Breast Cancer: The Lifestyle, Exercise, and Nutrition Early After Diagnosis Study,” published in the December 2023 issue of Oncology by Sanft, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to investigate the impact of a home-based exercise and nutrition intervention, delivered by oncology-certified registered dietitians on relative dose intensity (RDI) and pathologic complete response (pCR) in women with stage I-III breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

About 173 participants were randomly assigned to either usual care (UC) or the intervention group. The intervention focused on exercise and nutrition improvement, and outcomes were compared based on chemotherapy dose adjustments, delays, and pCR. Electronic medical records were utilized for data abstraction. T-tests and chi-square tests were employed to analyze the intervention’s effect on RDI and pCR.

The intervention group exhibited greater exercise and diet quality improvements compared to UC (P < 0.05). RDI percentages were 92.9% ± 12.1% for the intervention and 93.6% ± 11.1% for UC (P = 0.69). The proportion of patients achieving ≥85% RDI was 81% for the intervention and 85% for UC (P = 0.44). The incidence of dose reduction and/or delay was 38% for the intervention and 36% for UC (P = 0.80). Among 72 women receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the intervention group had a higher pCR rate (53% vs. 28%, P = 0.037).

While the intervention did not significantly impact RDI, it was associated with an increased pCR rate, particularly in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for hormone receptor–positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative and triple-negative breast cancer.

Source: ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JCO.23.00871