Breaking up long sitting periods to improve heart health and reduce chemo side effects in adults with lymphoma on R-CHOP or POLA-R-CHP
Interrupting Sedentary Time to Improve Cardiometabolic Health and Toxicity in Patients With Lymphoma Receiving Chemotherapy: The iSTAND Trial
This trial will test whether a 12-week program that interrupts long periods of sitting helps newly diagnosed adults with lymphoma receiving R-CHOP or POLA-R-CHP chemotherapy improve heart health and reduce chemotherapy side effects.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 24 (estimated) |
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Academic / other |
| Drugs / interventions | chemotherapy |
| Locations | 1 site (Boston, Massachusetts) |
| Trial ID | NCT06923397 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
This randomized pilot trial will assign about 24 newly diagnosed adult lymphoma patients receiving first-line R-CHOP or POLA-R-CHP to either a 12-week interrupted sedentary time intervention or usual care. The intervention encourages regular short activity breaks to reduce prolonged sitting and includes supervised and unsupervised components plus text-message support. Study measures include feasibility outcomes, cardiometabolic blood markers, fitness assessments, and patient-reported chemotherapy toxicity collected at baseline and after 12 weeks. All study visits and exercise sessions occur at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal candidates are English-speaking adults (≥18) newly diagnosed with lymphoma who are starting first-line R-CHOP or POLA-R-CHP, engage in ≤60 minutes per week of structured moderate-to-vigorous exercise, have physician clearance, can receive text messages, and can travel to Dana-Farber for visits.
Not a fit: Patients with unstable comorbidities that prevent moderate-to-vigorous activity, those already exercising more than 60 minutes per week, individuals under 18, or anyone unable to travel to Dana-Farber are unlikely to receive benefit from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could lower cardiometabolic risk and reduce the severity of chemotherapy-related side effects during treatment.
How similar studies have performed: Exercise and breaking up sedentary time have improved cardiometabolic markers in other populations and exercise interventions have reduced treatment-related symptoms in cancer patients, but applying an interrupted-sitting program specifically to newly diagnosed lymphoma patients on R-CHOP/POLA-R-CHP is relatively untested.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign informed consent prior to any study- related procedures. * Patients diagnosed with lymphoma. * Will receive first line R-CHOP or POLA-R-CHP chemotherapy regimens, patients do not need to be within a certain timeframe from diagnosis. * Aged ≥18 years; due to the rarity of the disease in those \<18 years, this age bracket will not be included. * Engaging in ≤60-minutes of structured moderate or vigorous intensity exercise. * Have physician clearance to participate in exercise. * Speak English. * Willing to travel to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for necessary data collection and exercise sessions. * Access to a phone that can receive text messages. Exclusion Criteria: * Unstable comorbidities that prevent participation in moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise. Patients with unstable comorbidities likely require supervised exercise for safety, and part of this study involves unsupervised exercise; therefore, for safety reasons, these persons are excluded. * Participate in more than 60 minutes of structured moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week over the last month. Excess additional exercise is a confounding factor in assessing the effect of the current interrupted sedentary time intervention. * Patients receiving treatment for other active malignancies (except basal cell carcinoma). This study is exclusively targeting lymphoma chemotherapy-related effects. * Patients currently taking weight loss drugs. * Subjects who in the opinion of the investigators may not be able to comply with the safety monitoring requirements of the study. * Unable to travel to DFCI Longwood campus for necessary data collection and chemotherapy infusions.
Where this trial is running
Boston, Massachusetts
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute — Boston, Massachusetts, United States (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Christina Dieli-Conwright, MD, PhD — Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Study coordinator: Christina Dieli-Conwright, MD, PhD
- Email: ChristinaM_Dieli-Conwright@dfci.harvard.edu
- Phone: 617-582-8321
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.