Effect of a weight loss intervention (WLI) on quality of life (QOL) and symptoms in women with breast cancer: Results from the Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) trial.
12010 Background: BWEL (Alliance A011401; NCT02750826) is a Phase III trial that randomizes patients (pts) with stage II-III breast cancer and body mass index (BMI) ≥27 kg/m 2 1:1 to a 24-month (mo) lifestyle-based WLI + health education (HE) or HE alone. Here we report prespecified secondary outcomes of the impact of the WLI on patient-reported QOL and symptoms. Methods: The first 540 BWEL pts (randomized between 9/2016 and 7/2017) were included in this substudy that collected PROMIS 29 Profile 2.0 and Global Health scores at enrollment, 6 and 24 mos. Adjusting for baseline scores, mean physical function (predefined substudy primary outcome), global physical and mental health, fatigue and other scores were compared at 6 and 24 mos using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). P-values <0.05 were considered significant. Positive differences in positive attributes (e.g., physical function) and negative differences in negative attributes (e.g., anxiety) represented better outcomes in the WLI arm. Results: At baseline, median BMI was 32.9 kg/m 2 (26.5 – 69.1), median age was 53 (25 - 78) years; 83.9% of pts were non-Hispanic White, 10.7% were Black and 5.9% were Hispanic. At 6 mos, the WLI (vs HE) arm had significantly better physical function (ANCOVA-based mean difference between arms 1.9 [95% CI 0.8, 3.0]; p<0.001), global physical health (2.0 [95% CI 0.9, 3.0]; p<0.001), global mental health (1.30 [95% CI 0.2, 2.4], p=0.03), social roles and activities (2.3 [95% CI 1.1, 3.6]; p<0.001), and fatigue (-1.7 [95% CI -3.1, -0.4], p=0.01) (Table). Improvements were generally maintained at 24 mos. Similar findings were seen in analyses using longitudinal mixed modeling. Conclusions: The BWEL WLI demonstrated QOL benefits for patients with breast cancer, resulting in significantly better physical function, global physical and mental health, and symptoms. Future analyses will evaluate which populations experienced the most benefit, as well as the relationships among QOL, symptoms, and weight loss. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882, UG1CA189823; U10CA180820; U10CA180868; U10CA180863, CCS 707213; U10CA180888; UG1CA189858; https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org. Clinical trial information: NCT02750826 . Analysis of covariance-adjusted least squares means values at 6-mos adjusted for baseline scores. QOL/Symptom Attributes HE WLI Between arm difference (95% CI)* P value Physical Function 47.1 49.0 1.9 (0.8, 3.0) <0.001 Global Physical Health 46.2 48.1 2.0 (0.9, 3.0) <0.001 Global Mental Health 48.6 49.9 1.3 (0.2, 2.4) 0.03 Social Roles and Activities 52.7 55.0 2.3 (1.1, 3.6) <0.001 Anxiety 50.2 50.0 -0.2 (-1.6, 1.2) 0.77 Depression 47.5 47.5 -0.0 (11.2, 1.2) 0.96 Fatigue 50.6 48.9 -1.7 (-3.1, -0.4) 0.01 Sleep Disturbance 51.0 51.1 0.1 (-0.6, 0.8) 0.80 Pain Interference 51.3 50.3 -1.0 (-2.4, 0.4) 0.15 *Positive differences in positive attributes and negative differences in negative attributes favor WLI arm.
Authors
- Brenda Ginos
- Vanessa Bernstein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6216-8376)
- Jennifer A. Ligibel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0633-3151)
- A. C. Dueck
- Judith O. Hopkins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9829-1242)
- Linda McCall
- Pamela J. Goodwin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2637-6906)
- Erica L. Mayer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5430-8957)
- L Carey
- Anna Weiss
- Patricia Spears
- Elizabeth S. Frank
- Eric P. Winer
- Julia R. White
- Ann H. Partridge
- Electra D. Paskett
- Dawn L. Hershman
- Olwen Hahn
- Vered Stearns
- Thomas Wadden
Institutions
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- BC Cancer Agency (CA)
- Mount Sinai Hospital (CA)
- Advocates for Youth (US)
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Duke University (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
- Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (US)
- Novant Health (US)
- Yale Cancer Center (US)
- The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- The University of Kansas Cancer Center (US)
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (US)
- Mayo Clinic in Arizona (US)
- Alliance Data (United States) (US)
- University of Kansas Medical Center (US)
- UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
- University of Rochester (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Published
- 2026-05-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2026.44.16_suppl.12010
- Primary Topic
- Cancer Risks and Factors
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- American Cancer Society
- Breast Cancer Research Foundation