Over 90,000 North Americans are diagnosed with cancer before the age of 40. Improved cancer therapies have led to an exponential growth in the number of pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors (PAYA-CS) who are expected to live 50-60 years beyond diagnosis. However, PAYA-CS are at increased risk of developing multiple cancer- and treatment-related morbidities including poor fitness (e.g., low VO2peak), hypertension (HTN), diabetes, and poor mental health, which all contribute to premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). The prevalence of CVD events (e.g. heart failure, heart attack, stroke) is up to 23.8% in adult survivors of pediatric cancers with long term follow-up after treatment. The incidence of subclinical CVD, which is a precursor to CVD events, is even higher in PAYA-CS; up to 40%, 11%, and 5% experience subclinical cardiomyopathy measured by abnormal global longitudinal strain (GLS), diastolic dysfunction (DD) or mild reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), respectively, and 18% experience reduced aerobic fitness. The treatment of modifiable CVD risk factors must be considered a fundamental target for improving CVD health-related outcomes in PAYA-CS. To this end, exercise and best-practices for CVD risk factor modification are integral to a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) model. Traditional cardiac rehabilitation models for patients with CVD (consisting of exercise, CVD risk factor treatment, and patient education) are safe and effective in improving HRQoL, morbidity, and mortality risk. However, by virtue of their age and low short-term CVD risk, PAYA-CS do not meet traditional criteria for initiating CR and are less likely to receive treatments to reduce CVD risk.
PAYA-CS with stage B heart failure (SB¬HF): (1) are at high risk for subsequent HF/CVD death; (2) have lower cardiopulmonary fitness; and (3) are more likely to benefit from CVD risk factor management. Considering that PAYA-CS have an estimated 33% prevalence of SBHF, this vulnerable cohort of cancer survivors represent an opportunity for intervention that is highly feasible and potentially impactful. Exercise is a preferred method for optimizing health and survival in PAYA-CS. However, we need models that safely and effectively deliver exercise interventions that meet the unique needs of this population. The cardio-oncology rehabilitation (CORE) model is an intervention that would provide PAYA-CS with SBHF a supervised and home-based exercise therapy, CVD risk factor modification, and behavioural support to reduce the risk of CVD. Nevertheless, due to the ambitious nature of the study, it is vital that we conduct a pilot version of the study to determine the feasibility and needed changes to achieve the best possible results.
The primary objective of the HIMALAYAS pilot study is to assess the feasibility, safety, and tolerability of a (1) two-arm RCT-based comparison of the CORE and Support interventions in PAYA-CS with SBHF, and (2) parallel passive behavioural support (PBS) cohort of PAYA-CS at high-risk of cancer-related CVD. The exploratory objectives of the study include (1) to compare the changes in primary exploratory outcome (VO2peak) and secondary exploratory outcomes (markers of cardiac function, CVD risk factor management, and patient-reported outcomes) between a CORE and Support intervention for PAYA-CS from baseline (T0) to 6-month (T1) follow-up and (2) to compare the changes in the primary and secondary exploratory outcomes between (1) CORE and Support from T0 to 12-month (T2) and 24-month (T3) follow-up, and (2) CORE, Support, and PBS from T0 to T3.
Cardio-oncology Rehabilitation (CORE) Group: CORE consists of exercise therapy, CVD risk factor management for the first 6 months (as per current standards in CR models) and behavioural support for the entire 2-year intervention period.
Support Group: The Support group will receive the behavioural support only. The timing and nature of all education, information, and peer support provided to Support participants will be identical to what is provided to CORE participants. The key difference in the long-term behavioural support strategy between CORE and Support participants is how weekly exercise goals are defined. Unlike the CORE participants who will be encouraged to use the personal activity intelligence (PAI) Score, Support participants will be given the challenge of meeting and maintaining the updated physical activity (PA) guidelines for cancer survivors (i.e., 90 to 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity PA per week).
Passive Behavioural Support (PBS) Groups: All PBS cohort participants will receive the same wrist-worn heart rate monitor and PA tracker as the CORE and Support participants. However, PBS participants will be blindly randomized to one of two passive behavioural support interventions (PBS1 and PBS2). PBS1 participants will be asked to download the same PAI Health application as CORE participants and will similarly be given the challenge of meeting and maintaining a weekly PAI Score ≥100 throughout the 18-month follow-up period. PBS2 participants will be asked to download and use the Map My Walk (Under Armour, Baltimore) application and will be challenged to meet and maintain the updated PA guidelines for cancer survivors (i.e., 90 to 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity PA per week).
