Introduction Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms in anti-cancer immune therapy. Physical activity has been proven effective in reducing fatigue, but unmet needs remain regarding the provision and access to adapted programmes, which efficiently addresses the main barriers to PA. Methods The PACTIMe-FEAS study primarily aimed at primarily to evaluate the feasibility and the acceptability of a videoconference-based 6-month programme promoting physical activity, and secondarily to assess its potential post-immediate and short-term effectiveness in reducing fatigue in cancer patients under immune therapy. Numeric self-reported questionnaires (Visual Analogue Scale-fatigue, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Échelle de Motivation envers l’Activité Physique en contexte de Santé, Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Insomnia Severity Index) were completed by participants through an online secure platform at three time points: just before (T1), and after (T2) the programme, and 3 months later (T3). Results Sixteen participants (50% male, 50% female, mean age 54 years, 69% melanoma, 31% overweight), with moderate-to-severe fatigue, entered the internet-delivered intervention; 14 completed it, with an average completion rate of physical activity supervised sessions of 75%. Satisfaction was high, confirming a demand for group format, personalised approach, professional guidance and home-based device, to support the practice of regular physical activity. A decrease in fatigue was observed at the end of the programme. Discussion The recruitment process did prove to be challenging, with a relatively small eligible population, and will need to be reconsidered to envision a larger scale trial. But here and now, this feasibility study provides the first promising foundations to develop further research on the effectiveness of an original remote programme.
BACKGROUND:Cabozantinib, a standard of care metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), may be associated with weight and muscle loss. These effects of new generation VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor on muscle mass loss are poorly described. METHODS:All cabozantinib-treated mRCC patients from January 2014 to February 2019 in our institution were included. Clinical data including weight were collected during therapy. Computed tomography images were centrally reviewed for response assessment, and axial sections at the third lumbar vertebrae were used to measure the total muscle area. Toxicities and cabozantinib outcomes were evaluated. Co-primary endpoints included skeletal muscle loss and weight loss (WL), longitudinally evaluated during treatment. WL has been classified according to CTCAEv5.0: Grade 1 (loss of 5 to <10% of baseline body weight), Grade 2 (loss of 10% to <20% of baseline body weight), and Grades 3-4 (loss >20% of baseline body weight). RESULTS:Patients were mostly men (70.3%), median age was 59.2 (range: 22.0-78.0) years, and median baseline body mass index was 25.0 (range: 16.4-49.3) kg/cm2 . Prognosis according to International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium score was good, intermediate, and poor for 13 (13.0%), 63 (63.0%), and 24 (24.0%) patients, respectively. Out of a total of 120 patients, 101 patients with a median follow-up of 22.3 months (range: 4.5-62.2) were eligible for analysis; 85 experienced muscle loss and muscle loss >10% increased during cabozantinib exposition, especially after 6 months of treatment. At cabozantinib baseline, 71 patients (70.3%) had sarcopenia, and 16/30 (53.3%) non-sarcopenic patients developed sarcopenia during treatment. Baseline sarcopenia was associated with lower response rates (P = 0.031) and higher grades 3-4 toxicities (P = 0.001). Out of 92 patients included in the WL analysis, 44 (47.8%) and 12 (13.0%) experienced grades 2 and 3 WL, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:We report a high incidence of grades 3-4 WL, fourth times higher than reported in prior pivotal trials, and half of the patients developed sarcopenia while on cabozantinib treatment. Weight and muscle mass loss with cabozantinib are underreported and may require further investigations and early management.
Rationale: Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent among BC patients and are linked to poorer prognosis and worse patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Weight loss interventions, based on caloric restriction, increased physical activity (PA) and behavioral counselling, are safe and feasible among BC survivors and hold the promise to improve BC-specific outcomes. MEDEA: Motivating to Exercise and Diet, and Educating to healthy behaviors After breast cancer (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04304924) will evaluate the impact of weight loss on CRF. Trial design: French multi-center 1:1 randomized controlled trial comparing a 12-month personalized, telephone-based weight loss program + health education intervention vs health education alone in overweight or obese BC patients. Endpoints and measures: Primary endpoint: difference in self-reported CRF 12 months post-randomization between arms, measured using the EORTC QLQ-C30 CRF subscale. Secondary endpoints: 1) PROs (EORTC QLQ-C30, -B45, -FA12), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale); 2) weight and body mass index (BMI), diet habits and quality, PA, sleep; 3) cost-effectiveness (number and length of hospital-admissions, all-drug consumption, number and duration of sick leaves). Accelerometer data will be collected to track PA and sleep measures. Qualitative analyses will evaluate patient motivation and satisfaction. Main eligibility criteria: stage I-II-III BC, primary BC treatment completed within the prior 12 months (definitive surgery, adjuvant chemo-, and/or radio-therapy, if administered), BMI ≥25 kg/m2, ability to walk at least 400 meters at any pace, ECOG PS 0-1, not participating in another weight loss, dietary or PA intervention clinical trial. Intervention and Control arms: The intervention and health education program are adapted from the BWEL: Breast Cancer WEight Loss study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02750826; PI Ligibel JA). The behavior change program is based on the Social Cognitive Theory. Patients in the intervention arm are paired with an individual lifestyle coach, who delivers the intervention through 24 semi-structured telephone calls of 30-60 minutes, supplemented by a detailed participant workbook and scheduled as follows: 1) intensive phase (weeks 1-12), 12 weekly calls; 2) consolidation phase (weeks 13-24), 6 bi-weekly calls; 3) maintenance phase (weeks 25-52), 1 monthly call. Coaches were hired and trained specifically for MEDEA, they are located at a centralized call center and receive support from coordinating nutrition, PA, and behavioral experts. Regular meetings with study team and investigators assure standardized delivery of the intervention and troubleshooting. Intervention goals include weight loss ≥10% of baseline weight, caloric restriction of 500-1000 Kcal/day, increased PA to 150 minutes/week in the initial phase and 225-300 minutes/week in the maintenance phase. Toolbox solutions are offered to tailor the intervention and meet the needs of specific ethnic, socioeconomic or other patient populations with difficulties in achieving intervention goals. All participants in both arms receive a health education program focusing on healthy living. Accrual: MEDEA will enroll 220 patients overall. Recruitment started in June 2020. Statistical considerations: The primary analysis of MEDEA will compare the primary endpoint of CRF scores at the 12-month post-randomization time point between arms. The study has 90.0% power at two-sided α=0.05 to detect a standardized effect size of 0.40 (sample size inflated for drop outs). For interpreting the clinical significance of effects, 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 standard deviation effects will be considered as small, moderate, and large (Cohen, 1988). All other measures, time points and analyses will be considered secondary or exploratory. Citation Format: Antonio Di Meglio, Elise Martin, Stefan Michiels, Cecile Charles, Tracy E. Crane, Aude Barbier, Bruno Raynard, Anthony Mangin, Olivier Tredan, Paul H. Cottu, Laurence Vanlemmens, Carine Segura-Djezzar, Anne Lesur, Barbara Pistilli, Florence Joly, Thomas Ginsbourger, Bernadette Coquet, Guillemette Jacob, Aude Sirven, Julia Bonastre, Jennifer A. Ligibel, Ines Vaz-Luis. MEDEA: A randomized trial of weight loss to reduce cancer-related fatigue (CRF) among overweight and obese breast cancer (BC) patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT-38-01.