Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics and Cancer early career investigator training program: first year results.

Energy imbalance increases cancer burden by increasing cancer risk and mortality. Training early career investigators on conducting impactful energy balance and cancer research is needed. We developed a Transdisciplinary Research in Energetics and Cancer (TREC) Training Program for early career investigators.

Total Sitting Time and Sitting Pattern in Postmenopausal Women Differ by Hispanic Ethnicity and are Associated With Cardiometabolic Risk Biomarkers.

Background Sedentary behavior is pervasive, especially in older adults, and is associated with cardiometabolic disease and mortality. Relationships between cardiometabolic biomarkers and sitting time are unexplored in older women, as are possible ethnic differences. Methods and Results Ethnic differences in sitting behavior and associations with cardiometabolic risk were explored in overweight/obese postmenopausal women (n=518; mean±SD age 63±6 years; mean body mass index 31.

Using Isotemporal Analyses to Examine the Relationships Between Daytime Activities and Cancer Recurrence Biomarkers in Breast Cancer Survivors.

Background: For breast cancer survivors, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is associated with improved survival. Less is known about the interrelationships of daytime activities (sedentary behavior [SB], light-intensity physical activity, and MVPA) and associations with survivors' health outcomes. This study will use isotemporal substitution to explore reallocations of time spent in daytime activities and associations with cancer recurrence biomarkers.

Mediators of a Physical Activity Intervention on Cognition in Breast Cancer Survivors: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Emerging research suggests that increasing physical activity can help improve cognition among breast cancer survivors. However, little is known about the mechanism through which physical activity impacts cancer survivors' cognition.

Objective: The objective of this secondary analysis examined physical and psychological function potentially linking physical activity with changes in cognition among breast cancer survivors in a randomized controlled trial where the exercise arm had greater improvements in cognition than the control arm.

Continuous, objective measurement of physical activity during chemotherapy for breast cancer: the Activity in Treatment pilot study.

Despite many potential benefits of physical activity during and after breast cancer treatment, activity levels typically decline from pre- to posttreatment. Most previous research has relied on self-reported activity. The purpose of this study were to assess patterns of daily, to objectively measured physical activity throughout chemotherapy for breast cancer, and to identify predictors of physical activity patterns.

The effects of weight loss and metformin on cognition among breast cancer survivors: Evidence from the Reach for Health study.

Objective: Breast cancer survivors experience problems with cognition that interfere with daily life and can last for years. In the general population, obesity and diabetes are risk factors for cognitive decline, and weight loss can improve cognition; however, the impact of intentional weight loss on cancer survivors' cognition has not been tested. We investigated the impact of weight loss and metformin on changes in cognitive function in a sample of breast cancer survivors.

Physical Activity Change in an RCT: Comparison of Measurement Methods.

We aimed to quantify the agreement between self-report, standard cut-point accelerometer, and machine learning accelerometer estimates of physical activity (PA), and exam- ine how agreement changes over time among older adults in an intervention setting. Data were from a randomized weight loss trial that encouraged increased PA among 333 postmenopausal breast cancer survivors. PA was estimated using accelerometry and a validated questionnaire at baseline and 6-months.

The Effects of Metformin and Weight Loss on Biomarkers Associated With Breast Cancer Outcomes.

Background: This study investigated the effects of metformin and weight loss on biomarkers associated with breast cancer prognosis.

Methods: Overweight/obese postmenopausal breast cancer survivors (n = 333) were randomly assigned to metformin vs placebo and to a weight loss intervention vs control (ie, usual care). The 2 × 2 factorial design allows a single randomized trial to investigate the effect of two factors and interactions between them.

Randomized controlled trial of increasing physical activity on objectively measured and self-reported cognitive functioning among breast cancer survivors: The memory & motion study.

Background: Increasing physical activity can improve cognition in healthy and cognitively impaired adults; however, the benefits for cancer survivors are unknown. The current study examined a 12-week physical activity intervention, compared with a control condition, on objective and self-reported cognition among breast cancer survivors.

Methods: Sedentary breast cancer survivors were randomized to an exercise arm (n = 43) or a control arm (n = 44).

Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting.

The objective of this review is to provide an overview of intermittent fasting regimens, summarize the evidence on the health benefits of intermittent fasting, and discuss physiological mechanisms by which intermittent fasting might lead to improved health outcomes. A MEDLINE search was performed using PubMed and the terms "intermittent fasting," "fasting," "time-restricted feeding," and "food timing." Modified fasting regimens appear to promote weight loss and may improve metabolic health.

Sedentary Behaviors and Biomarkers Among Breast Cancer Survivors.

Background: Sedentary behavior is associated with increased risk of poor outcomes in breast cancer survivors, but underlying mechanisms are not well understood. This pilot study explored associations between different aspects of sedentary behaviors (sitting, prolonged sitting, sit-to-stand transitions, and standing) and breast cancer risk-related biomarkers in breast cancer survivors (n = 30).

Methods: Sedentary behavior variables were objectively measured with thigh-worn activPALs.

Objectively measured sedentary behavior and quality of life among survivors of early stage breast cancer.

Purpose: This study examined relationships between sedentary behavior accumulated in different bout durations and quality of life (QoL) among breast cancer survivors.

Methods: Postmenopausal breast cancer survivors completed the Short Form Health Survey to assess QoL and wore an accelerometer to measure sedentary behavior and physical activity between August 2011 and May 2013.

Results: Participants (n = 134) averaged 509.

The Association of the C-Reactive Protein Inflammatory Biomarker with Breast Cancer Incidence and Mortality in the Women's Health Initiative.

To examine associations of prediagnosis high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) with breast cancer incidence and postdiagnosis survival and to assess whether associations are modified by body mass index (BMI). A prospective analysis of the Women's Health Initiative was conducted among 17,841 cancer-free postmenopausal women with baseline hsCRP measurements. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine associations between hsCRP concentrations and (i) breast cancer risk ( cases = 1,114) and (ii) all-cause mortality after breast cancer diagnosis.

Kernel Density Estimation as a Measure of Environmental Exposure Related to Insulin Resistance in Breast Cancer Survivors.

Environmental factors may influence breast cancer; however, most studies have measured environmental exposure in neighborhoods around home residences (static exposure). We hypothesize that tracking environmental exposures over time and space (dynamic exposure) is key to assessing total exposure. This study compares breast cancer survivors' exposure to walkable and recreation-promoting environments using dynamic Global Positioning System (GPS) and static home-based measures of exposure in relation to insulin resistance.

Sleep duration and breast cancer prognosis: perspectives from the Women's Healthy Eating and Living Study.

Purpose: To examine whether baseline sleep duration or changes in sleep duration are associated with breast cancer prognosis among early-stage breast cancer survivors in the multi-center Women's Healthy Eating and Living Study.

Methods: Data were collected from 1995 to 2010. Analysis included 3047 women.

Time-restricted feeding improves insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in a mouse model of postmenopausal obesity.

Background: Menopause is associated with significant hormonal changes that result in increased total body fat and abdominal fat, amplifying the risk for metabolic syndrome and diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer in postmenopausal women. Intermittent fasting regimens hold significant health benefit promise for obese humans, however, regimens that include extreme daytime calorie restriction or daytime fasting are generally associated with hunger and irritability, hampering long-term compliance and adoption in the clinical setting. Time-restricted feeding (TRF), a regimen allowing eating only during a specific period in the normal circadian feeding cycle, without calorie restriction, may increase compliance and provide a more clinically viable method for reducing the detrimental metabolic consequences associated with obesity.

Technology- and Phone-Based Weight Loss Intervention: Pilot RCT in Women at Elevated Breast Cancer Risk.

Introduction: For women with an increased breast cancer risk, reducing excess weight and increasing physical activity are believed to be important approaches for reducing their risk. This study tested a weight loss intervention that combined commercially available technology-based self-monitoring tools with individualized phone calls.

Design: Women were randomized to a weight loss intervention arm (n=36) or a usual care arm (n=18).

Objective Assessment of Physical Activity: Classifiers for Public Health.

Purpose: Walking for health is recommended by health agencies, partly based on epidemiological studies of self-reported behaviors. Accelerometers are now replacing survey data, but it is not clear that intensity-based cut points reflect the behaviors previously reported. New computational techniques can help classify raw accelerometer data into behaviors meaningful for public health.

Prolonged Nightly Fasting and Breast Cancer Prognosis.

Importance: Rodent studies demonstrate that prolonged fasting during the sleep phase positively influences carcinogenesis and metabolic processes that are putatively associated with risk and prognosis of breast cancer. To our knowledge, no studies in humans have examined nightly fasting duration and cancer outcomes.

Objective: To investigate whether duration of nightly fasting predicted recurrence and mortality among women with early-stage breast cancer and, if so, whether it was associated with risk factors for poor outcomes, including glucoregulation (hemoglobin A1c), chronic inflammation (C-reactive protein), obesity, and sleep.

Randomized trial of a phone- and web-based weight loss program for women at elevated breast cancer risk: the HELP study.

Excess weight and physical inactivity are modifiable risk factors for breast cancer. Behavioral intervention is particularly important among women with an elevated risk profile. This trial tested an intervention that trained women to use a self-monitoring website to increase activity and lose weight.

Impact of very low physical activity, BMI, and comorbidities on mortality among breast cancer survivors.

The purpose of this study was to examine post-diagnosis BMI, very low physical activity, and comorbidities, as predictors of breast cancer-specific and all-cause mortality. Data from three female US breast cancer survivor cohorts were harmonized in the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project (n = 9513). Delayed entry Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the impact of three post-diagnosis lifestyle factors: body mass index (BMI), select comorbidities (diabetes only, hypertension only, or both), and very low physical activity (defined as physical activity <1.

TREC to WHERE? Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer.

When information is exchanged across disciplinary boundaries, resources are shared, and discipline-specific approaches are altered to achieve a common scientific goal, we create a new intellectual space for transdisciplinary research. This approach, fostered heavily by multiple NCI-funded initiatives, has the potential to forge new understanding of major public health issues. By breaking down disciplinary barriers, we work toward making real, meaningful, and lasting forward motion in addressing key public health issues.

Recruitment strategies, design, and participant characteristics in a trial of weight-loss and metformin in breast cancer survivors.

Weight loss and metformin are hypothesized to improve breast cancer outcomes; however the joint impacts of these treatments have not been investigated. Reach for Health is a randomized trial using a 2 × 2 factorial design to investigate the effects of weight loss and metformin on biomarkers associated with breast cancer prognosis among overweight/obese postmenopausal breast cancer survivors. This paper describes the trial recruitment strategies, design, and baseline sample characteristics.

A pooled analysis of post-diagnosis lifestyle factors in association with late estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer prognosis.

Lifestyle factors have been well studied in relation to breast cancer prognosis overall; however, associations of lifestyle and late outcomes (>5 years after diagnosis) have been much less studied, and no studies have focused on estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer survivors, who may have high risk of late recurrence and mortality. We utilized a large prospective pooling study to evaluate the associations of lifestyle factors with late recurrence and all-cause mortality among 6,295 5-year ER+ Stage I-III breast cancer survivors. Pooled and harmonized data were available on clinical factors and lifestyle factors (pre- to post-diagnosis weight change, body mass index (BMI) (kg/m(2)), recreational physical activity, alcohol intake and smoking history), measured on average 2.

Use of the Fitbit to Measure Adherence to a Physical Activity Intervention Among Overweight or Obese, Postmenopausal Women: Self-Monitoring Trajectory During 16 Weeks.

Background: Direct-to-consumer trackers and devices have potential to enhance theory-based physical activity interventions by offering a simple and pleasant way to help participants self-monitor their behavior. A secondary benefit of these devices is the opportunity for investigators to objectively track adherence to physical activity goals across weeks or even months, rather than relying on self-report or a small number of accelerometry wear periods. The use of consumer trackers for continuous monitoring of adherence has considerable potential to enhance physical activity research, but few studies have been published in this rapidly developing area.