KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The BWEL phase 3 trial aimed to investigate the effect of a WLI on physical activity levels in overweight patients with BC.
- Researchers found that the intervention increased physical activity; further study will explore its effect on cancer outcomes.
The BWEL trial (Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology A011401, NCT02750826) investigates the effects of a weight loss intervention (WLI) on invasive disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with breast cancer (BC) with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 27 kg/m².
This WLI, delivered through telephone-based health coaching, emphasized caloric restriction and increased exercise, with a target of 150 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week. This secondary analysis of the BWEL trial examines how the WLI influenced changes in MVPA.
Jennifer Ligibel and the team aimed to assess the impact of the WLI on physical activity levels among participants with overweight or obesity and early-stage BC.
They performed an inclusive analysis using data from the first 541 patients enrolled in the BWEL trial. They assessed MVPA at baseline and 6 months through the 7-Day Physical Activity Recall Interview. Changes in weekly MVPA minutes were compared between groups.
The analysis utilized univariable and multivariable regression models, accounting for variables such as study arm, baseline weight, baseline MVPA minutes per week, menopausal status, race/ethnicity, and hormone receptor status. A significance level of 0.05 was applied.
About baseline characteristics, the median BMI across the cohort was 32.9 kg/m² (range 26.5, 69.1), median age was 53 years (range 25, 78), the median minutes of MVPA per week was 0 (range 0, 630). Minutes of MVPA per week increased significantly in the WLI group compared to the control group between baseline and 6 months (median increase of 39.5 [-425, 575] vs 0 [-353, 630] minutes of MVPA per week, P=0.0004).
At 6 months, 26.4% of WLI versus 36.7% of control patients (P=0.03) engaged in 0 minutes of MVPA per week, while 37.0% of WLI versus 23.4% of control patients engaged in 150+ minutes of MVPA per week (P=0.003). MVPA was associated with weight loss; patients across the total cohort who engaged in 150+ minutes of MVPA per week at 6 months experienced greater weight loss compared to those who did not (mean 4.5% [95% CI: -5.6, -3.4] vs 2.2% [95% CI: -2.9, -1.5], P=0.0005).
The study concluded that a telephone-based weight loss intervention significantly increased moderate or vigorous physical activity in patients with overweight or obesity and early BC. Further follow-up of the BWEL trial will assess whether these changes in exercise can predict cancer outcomes.
The trial was sponsored by Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology.
Source: https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/esmo2024/attendee/confcal/show/session/195
Clinical Trial: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02750826
Ligibel J, Ballman K, Mccall L, et al. (2024). “Effect of a weight loss intervention (WLI) on exercise behaviors in women with breast cancer: Results from the breast cancer weight loss (BWEL) trial.” Presented at ESMO 2024 (Abstract 1817MO).
