Abstract D033: High-intensity interval training is feasible in Hispanic patients with breast cancer undergoing anthracycline chemotherapy
Authors: Lee Kyuwan , Ortiz Karina , Goytizolo Jessica , Serrano Theresa , Dieli-Conwright Christina M 
Published: September 2020

Background and Purpose Chemotherapy may initiate and worsen comorbid conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Hispanic women are more likely to be obese and physically inactive than matched non-Hispanic counterparts, increasing the risk for developing comorbid conditions during chemotherapy. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a safe, time-efficient exercise strategy that has been deemed more effective than moderate continuous aerobic exercise at improving cardiovascular health in patients with heart failure and stroke. The study purpose was to determine whether a HIIT intervention is a feasible exercise strategy for Hispanic patients with breast cancer undergoing anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Experimental Design Sedentary, overweight or obese (BMI³25.0 kg/m2) Hispanic patients with breast cancer (Stage I-III;) were randomized to exercise (n=11) or control (n=11). Participants performed a maximal cycling fitness test to measure peak power output (PPO) during maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). The exercise group participated in an 8-week HIIT intervention occurring 3 times weekly. Adherence measures used to define feasibility were calculated for each participant by computing (1) the average weekly minutes of HIIT over 8 weeks and (2) the number of sessions attended and multiplied by 100 (percentage of sessions). The HIIT intervention was considered feasible if more than 50% of participants completed both an average of 70% of weekly minutes (63/90 minutes) and attended 70% exercise sessions (17/24 sessions). Descriptive statistics were performed for exercise adherence in the exercise group. Paired sample t-test was used to compare VO2max from baseline to post-intervention in the exercise group. Summary of Results Eleven Hispanic women with an average age of 48.9±6.2 years and BMI of 34.8±7.3 kg/m2 were included. The average weekly minutes of exercise completed was 80.2±6.9 out of 90 minutes. The exercise group attended an average of 20.1±3.8 (83.8%) out of 24 sessions. Nine of 11 (82%) participants in the exercise group met both feasibility criteria. No adverse events occurred. VO2max was not significantly changed in the exercise group (15.6±5.1 to 15.8±4.3, p=0.92) while significantly reduced in the control group (18.1±3.3 to 16.0±3.1, p=0.001) following 8 weeks. Conclusions HIIT is a feasible exercise intervention in Hispanic patients with breast cancer receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy, as demonstrated by the high adherence to the intervention. HIIT should be considered a safe, feasible exercise strategy to utilize among minority patients with cancer.

Citation Format: Kyuwan Lee, Karina Ortiz, Jessica Goytizolo, Theresa Serrano, Christina M Dieli-Conwright. High-intensity interval training is feasible in Hispanic patients with breast cancer undergoing anthracycline chemotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr D033.