PMID 37449003

Research
All papers

The impact of high intensity interval training in a diverse group of cancer survivors: CAPABLE, a pilot study

Beebe-Dimmer JL, Finlay DG, Ruterbusch JJ, Baird T, Simon MS, Abrams J, Harper FWK, Podgorski I, Heath EI

Question

What changes in body composition, serum cardiometabolic markers, health-related quality of life, emotional response to exercise, and fitness assessments occur over 12 weeks among a diverse group of cancer survivors participating in the CAPABLE high-intensity interval and strength training pilot program?

Summary

This single-arm pilot introduced 48 cancer survivors to a 12-week, coach-led program combining high-intensity interval and strength-building exercise. Among 37 adherent participants, body weight, BMI, body fat percentage, HbA1c, quality of life, emotional response to exercise, and trainer-assessed strength and endurance generally improved from baseline to exit. Because there was no control group and analyses focused on adherent participants, the study supports feasibility and signals of benefit rather than causal effectiveness.

Methodology

  • Medically cleared adult invasive cancer survivors, not currently regular exercisers, participating in a Detroit-area supervised exercise pilot.
  • 48 participants.
  • Mixed CrossFit-style functional strength and high-intensity interval conditioning.
  • Intensity: High-intensity interval and strength training; exact target not reported.
  • 1 hour.
  • 3 sessions/week.
  • 12 weeks.
  • Single-arm pilot exercise intervention with baseline-to-exit comparisons.
  • Body weight, BMI, Percent body fat, and HbA1c were tracked.

Outcomes

Program adherence

37 of 48 enrolled participants met the adherence definition.

Adherent proportion 77%; 11 participants were non-adherent or withdrew.

Mixed

BMI

Mean BMI decreased over 12 weeks among participants with body-composition data.

N=31; 32.8 to 31.7 kg/m2; mean change -1.1 (95% CI -1.7 to -0.1); p<0.001.

Improved

Weight

Mean body weight decreased over 12 weeks.

N=31; 210 to 203 lb; mean change -7 lb (95% CI -10 to -4); p<0.001.

Improved

Percent body fat

Mean body fat percentage decreased over 12 weeks.

N=30; 38.3% to 35.5%; mean change -2.8 percentage points (95% CI -4.2 to -1.5); p<0.001.

Improved

HbA1c

HbA1c decreased over 12 weeks among participants with blood data.

N=20; 5.7% to 5.3%; mean change -0.4 percentage points (95% CI -0.5 to -0.2); p<0.001.

Improved

Glucose and lipids

Glucose, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and VLDL did not significantly change; triglycerides decreased numerically but not significantly.

Glucose p=0.487; total cholesterol p=0.824; triglycerides p=0.105; HDL p=0.711; LDL p=0.734; VLDL p=0.298.

Mixed

FACT-G health-related quality of life

Total FACT-G and each individual domain improved.

Total score 85.7 to 95.2; mean change +9.5; p<0.001. Physical p=0.005, social p=0.007, emotional p=0.005, functional p=0.027.

Improved

Emotional response to exercise

The study-specific emotional response to exercise score improved.

40.7 to 44.2; mean change +3.5; p=0.010.

Improved

Insights

  • For medically cleared cancer survivors, supervised and individually scalable interval-plus-strength training may be feasible for many but not all participants.
  • Adherence barriers in a real-world survivorship program included work conflicts, treatment complications, illness, caregiver responsibilities, program difficulty, and unrelated injury.
  • This paper is more useful for clinical implementation context than for exact HIIT programming because interval structure and achieved intensity were not reported.
  • Quality-of-life changes may be practically meaningful, but causal attribution requires a controlled trial.

Limitations

  • Single-arm design without randomized or nonrandomized control group.
  • Pilot sample size.
  • Outcomes reported primarily among adherent participants.
  • Exact HIIT work-rest structure, warm-up/cool-down, and intensity targets were not reported.
  • Blood draws were optional and serum-marker sample sizes were smaller.
  • Intervention combined HIIT, strength training, coaching, and social support, so the independent contribution of HIIT is unclear.
  • No longer-term follow-up reported.

Safety

  • Written physician clearance was required before consent.
  • Patients with widely metastatic cancer to bone or brain were excluded.
  • One non-adherent or withdrawn participant had an injury unrelated to the program.
  • Two non-adherent or withdrawn participants had complications of cancer treatment, and one had illness.
  • The article does not report a formal adverse-event count.