Neil Iyengar, MD

Developing a personalized intervention platform that matches patients with lifestyle modifications to improve breast cancer outcomes.

Impact

Lifestyle interventions including modifications to diet and exercise have been shown to improve physical function, quality of life for people with breast cancer and possibly reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence. However, most lifestyle interventions occur several years after diagnosis as part of a survivorship program, and considerable variability in individual needs limits the efficacy of traditional one-size-fits-all approaches. Dr. Iyengar has developed a digital-hybrid multidisciplinary intervention care model called the Healthy Living Program that offers individualized lifestyle prescriptions beginning at breast cancer diagnosis. The intervention includes online risk assessment tools, virtual education sessions, and telemedicine appointments with exercise physiologists, nutritionists, and nurse practitioners trained in lifestyle coaching who help patients transition seamlessly from cancer diagnosis to post-treatment survivorship.

Progress Thus Far

In the past year, Dr. Iyengar and his team have continued to enroll patients to the program. The team found that about 76 percent of patients invited agreed to join, highlighting the feasibility of enrolling patients to the program. In addition, program participants reported improvements in their overall sense of wellbeing, physical and emotional functioning, and levels of energy and fatigue during the first six months after breast cancer diagnosis. This is a promising finding since prior studies have found patients typically report worse outcomes within the first year of diagnosis.

Building on this success, the team launched a new clinical trial to test whether adding a virtual coaching app called Complement1 to the program could further improve patients’ quality of life. The app offers personalized exercise and nutrition plans. So far, 30 patients have agreed to participate, and enrollment of additional patients continues.

What’s next

Over the next year, the research team will continue enrolling patients in the clinical trial to compare two versions of the Healthy Living Program—one with and one without added digital tools that support exercise, nutrition, and sleep. The team will evaluate how the digital tools influence quality of life by reviewing patient surveys, sleep and activity levels as monitored by wearable devices like fitness trackers. They will also measure how the digital tools affect exercise habits and eating behaviors. Findings will be correlated with the quality-of-life data collected. Lastly, the team will collect blood samples from participants for future studies that will evaluate how these risk-modifying interventions affect biological factors related to cancer and metabolism. Ultimately, the team hopes this research will lead to practical, personalized programs that help people with breast cancer live healthier lives during and after treatment.