Improving thinking and memory in breast cancer survivors with community aerobic exercise
Official title: Enhancing cognitive function in breast cancer survivors through community-based aerobic exercise training
Funded at Mayo Clinic Arizona · NIH-11136886 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses community-based aerobic exercise to help women 50+ who survived breast cancer improve thinking, memory, and brain health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mayo Clinic Arizona NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Scottsdale, United States) |
| Project start | August 22, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $511,260 |
| NIH project number | 5R37CA252060-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11136886 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are women aged 50 or older who are breast cancer survivors, have finished primary treatment, and are experiencing cognitive changes or worry about memory and thinking.
✕Less likely to help
People who cannot safely do moderate aerobic exercise, have medical reasons preventing participation, or whose cognitive problems arise from non-cancer causes may not benefit from this program.
What this research studies
You would join a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program held in community settings and follow it for a set period. The team will measure your fitness, give thinking and memory tests, and use brain imaging to look for changes in brain structure and connectivity, while also tracking fatigue and other symptoms. Results before and after the program will be compared to see whether exercise helps reduce cancer-related cognitive decline. The plan builds on prior findings that aerobic exercise helps cognition in older adults and early work suggesting similar benefits for breast cancer survivors.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help reduce thinking and memory problems after breast cancer and improve overall brain health and daily functioning.
How similar studies have gone: Aerobic exercise has improved cognition in older adults and early pilot data in breast cancer survivors suggest benefit, but larger community-based trials are still needed.
Where this research is happening
-
Mayo Clinic Arizona
Scottsdale, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ehlers, Diane Kristen — Mayo Clinic Arizona
- Study coordinator: Ehlers, Diane Kristen
Related research
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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.