Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, New York
Associate Member and Attending Physician, Breast Medicine Service
Developing a personalized intervention platform that matches patients with lifestyle modifications to improve breast cancer outcomes.
Lifestyle interventions including modifications to diet and exercise have been shown to improve physical function, quality of life for people with breast cancer and possibly reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence. However, most lifestyle interventions occur several years after diagnosis as part of a survivorship program, and considerable variability in individual needs limits the efficacy of traditional one-size-fits-all approaches. Dr. Iyengar has developed a digital-hybrid multidisciplinary intervention care model called the Healthy Living Program that offers individualized lifestyle prescriptions beginning at breast cancer diagnosis. The intervention includes online risk assessment tools, virtual education sessions, and telemedicine appointments with exercise physiologists, nutritionists, and nurse practitioners trained in lifestyle coaching who help patients transition seamlessly from cancer diagnosis to post-treatment survivorship.
In the past year, researchers expanded the program and enrolled nearly 1400 patients. A retrospective analysis demonstrated the feasibility of the program and that patients reported improved outcomes. They also identified several common modifiable lifestyle risk factors including sedentary lifestyle, dietary patterns that do not meet national guidelines, sleep disturbances, and lack of psychosocial support that are present at the time of cancer diagnosis, supporting the need for intervention near the start of cancer treatment.
Dr. Iyengar is launching a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of adding three new digital therapeutic tools to the Healthy Living Program: a digital exercise platform, an artificial intelligence platform for dietary guidance, and a behavioral app to improve sleep quality. These new tools aim to improve the efficacy of the Program and will be integrated into the overarching interventions provided by Program experts. Researchers will evaluate the new tools and the Program approach by measuring patient-reported outcomes and predictive biomarkers within the trial.
Neil Iyengar, MD is a medical oncologist and clinical-translational researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). He is an Associate Member and Attending Physician in the Breast Medicine Service at MSKCC, Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, and holds a joint research appointment as an Associate Attending Physician at the Rockefeller University Hospital. His research focuses on the implications of metabolic health and the development of lifestyle interventions (e.g., structured exercise, diet) as an anti-cancer strategy. His work has been supported by National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society grants as well as awards from several organizations including Career Development and Merit Awards from the ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation and a Young Investigator Award from Expedition Inspiration Fund, and awards from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the American Association for Cancer Research.
“If not for BCRF, we would not have efficiently generated rigorous data to implement personalized lifestyle interventions during cancer therapy to improve quality of life and outcomes.”
2015
The Pink Agenda Award
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