How breast cancer and its treatment affect long-term aging and physical function
Official title: Long-Term Trajectories of Accelerated Biological Aging and Functional Decline Associated with Breast Cancer and its Treatment
Funded at Kaiser Foundation Research Institute · NIH-11180970 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether breast cancer and its treatments lead to faster biological aging and physical decline in older women who survived breast cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Kaiser Foundation Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oakland, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $667,754 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA283839-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11180970 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Older post-menopausal women with a history of invasive breast cancer who received cancer treatment, particularly those enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative or similar long-term studies.
✕Less likely to help
Men, younger women, and people without a history of breast cancer are unlikely to directly benefit from this study's results.
What this research studies
If you are an older woman who had breast cancer, this research combines decades of clinical visits, questionnaires, and lab measures from women in the Women's Health Initiative to follow how bodies change over time. Researchers will compare survivors to women without cancer and track frailty, physical function, and molecular signs of aging in blood, including epigenetic clocks. They will also examine whether different treatment types and intensity are linked to faster aging or greater functional decline. The work uses existing long-term data to understand real-world survivorship rather than testing new treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help doctors identify survivors at higher risk of early aging and tailor follow-up care to prevent or slow functional decline.
How similar studies have gone: Animal studies and smaller human studies link cancer treatments to molecular signs of aging, but long-term population-level evidence on survivors' aging trajectories is limited, so this approach is relatively novel at scale.
Where this research is happening
-
Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
Oakland, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Feliciano, Elizabeth Marjorie Cespedes — Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Feliciano, Elizabeth Marjorie Cespedes
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Long-Term Aging and Functional Changes After Breast Cancer and Its Treatments
This study looks at how aging and daily functioning change over time in older women who have had breast cancer and its treatments.
-
Cognitive aging in long-term breast cancer survivors
This research explores how aging affects thinking and memory in people who survived breast cancer many years after treatment, focusing on those 65 and older.
-
Aging, DNA Methylation, and Cardio Risk in Breast Cancer Survivors
A study to help breast cancer survivors understand how aging and DNA changes might raise the chance of heart disease.
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How breast cancer treatment affects biological aging and heart health
This project looks at whether breast cancer treatment speeds up biological aging and how that relates to heart strength and fitness in women getting treatment.
-
Understanding memory and thinking changes in older breast cancer survivors
This work looks at how memory and thinking skills change over many years in older breast cancer survivors compared to people who haven't had cancer.
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How breast cancer treatment affects heart health and aging
This study is looking at how breast cancer treatments might affect heart health and aging in women, and it aims to find out if staying active can help improve heart function and overall well-being during treatment.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.