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NCT Number: NCT06869447

New York Better Breathing Study

This clinical trial evaluates the effects of whether breathing exercises at home can reduce symptoms and help stage I-III lung cancer survivors stay active. Over 70% of lung cancer survivors have trouble breathing, feel tired, and have lower levels of fitness. This is often because their breathing muscles are weaker after surgery. Many survivors find it hard to exercise, which affects their quality of life and overall survival. A training program to strengthen these muscles might reduce breathing problems, lower fatigue, and improve quality of life. Staying active could also help boost the immune system to fight cancer. Respiratory muscle training (RMT) involves a series of breathing and other exercises that are performed to improve the function of the respiratory muscles through resistance and endurance training. Participating in a home-based RMT intervention may reduce symptoms from cancer or treatment in lung cancer survivors.

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Key information

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Buffalo, New York, 14263, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Andrew D. Ray

CONTACT

[email protected]

716-845-2381

Andrew D. Ray

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

About this study

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Determine the feasibility of delivering a home-based RMT program to Black and White lung cancer survivors.

II. Determine the effects of RMT on symptom management (quality of life [QoL], fatigue, dyspnea, sleep, etc.), performance (respiratory muscle and lower extremity strength), and physical activity in Black and White lung cancer survivors.

III. Determine if RMT improves cancer related anti-tumor activity (T-cell function) and diminishes markers of immunosuppression (myeloid-derived suppressor cells [MDSCs], regulatory T cells) and inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, (hsCRP) in circulation.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 groups.

GROUP I: Patients participate in home-based/virtually supervised and unsupervised moderate/high intensity RMT sessions consisting of three sets of 15 breaths using the Power Lung device over 20 to 30 minutes per session, 5 days per week for 12 weeks. Patients also undergo blood sample collection throughout the study.

GROUP II: Patients participate in home-based/virtually supervised and unsupervised low intensity sham RMT sessions using the Power Lung breathing device over 20 to 30 minutes per session, 5 days per week for 12 weeks. Patients also undergo blood sample collection throughout the study. Patients may optionally participate in the moderate/high intensity RMT session for 6 weeks upon study completion.

After completion of study intervention, patients are followed up at 3 months.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age ≥ 18 years of age.
  • Able to speak, read and comprehend the English language
  • Self-identify as non-Hispanic Black or White.
  • Are < 24 months of histologically confirmed invasive, non-metastatic, lung cancer diagnosis.
  • Have received surgical treatment (primarily stage I, II and III) and have completed all cancer treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation).
  • Willing to provide biospecimen samples for the study (blood) which will be collected in the comfort of the patient's home by a mobile phlebotomy group.
  • Participant must understand the investigational nature of this study and sign an Independent Ethics Committee/Institutional Review Board approved written informed consent form prior to receiving any study related procedure.

Exclusion criteria

  • Participant has in situ (stage 0) or metastatic (stage IV) disease at study entry.
  • Has contraindications for respiratory muscle training (e.g., recent pulmonary embolism, aortic aneurysm, current pneumothorax).
  • Is actively engaging in a structured exercise program and/or meeting exercise guidelines.
  • Unwilling or unable to follow protocol requirements.
  • Any condition which in the investigator's opinion deems the participant an unsuitable candidate to participate in the study.

Treatment and study plan

Biospecimen Collection

Procedure

Undergo blood sample collection

Other names: Biological Sample Collection, Biospecimen Collected, Specimen Collection

Electronic Health Record Review

Other

Ancillary studies

Medical Device Usage and Evaluation

Other

Use Power Lung breathing device

Questionnaire Administration

Other

Ancillary studies

Respiratory Muscle Training

Procedure

Participate in RMT sessions

Other names: RMT

sham intervention

Procedure

Participate in sham sessions

Other names: Sham Comparator

Primary outcomes

  1. Percentage of patients who complete at least 3 respiratory muscle training (RMT) sessions/week (Compliance) (Aim 1)

    Time frame: Up to 12 weeks

    Compliance will be estimated using 90% confidence intervals (CIs) obtained by Jeffreys' prior method. Will be modeled as a function of time (e.g., week) and prespecified exogenous factors (e.g., baseline age, pre-intervention dyspnea scores, self-reported history of exercise, lung cancer treatment received, treatment side-effects) using a GEE (Generalized Estimating Equations) logistic regression model (autoregressive covariance structure). Will also be explored with data stratified by race and gender.

  2. Proportion of planned sessions completed (Adherence) (Aim 1)

    Time frame: Up to 12 weeks

    Adherence will be defined as the number of sessions completed divided by the total number of sessions planned (70% of the 42/60 sessions). Will be estimated using 90% CIs obtained by Jeffreys' prior method. Will also be explored with data stratified by race and gender.

  3. Proportion of total completed to total planned cumulative dose (Tolerability) (Aim 1)

    Time frame: Up to 12 weeks

    Tolerability ratio will be assessed using Relative Dose Intensity and rate of lost to follow-up and discontinuation.

  4. Inspiratory muscle strength (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Up to 12 weeks

    Will perform remote respiratory muscle strength testing with a handheld device (Leaton, China) to measure diaphragm strength. All will be done per American Thoracic Society guidelines. A minimum of 3 trials with 5% of each will be required. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using linear mixed models (LMMs).

  5. Change in dyspnea (Aim 2)-Dyspnea-12 survey

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be measured using the Dyspnea-12 survey survey that measures recent breathlessness with 12 questions related to dyspnea, each evaluated on a scale of 0-4 (0=none, 1=mild, 2=moderate, 3=severe) that indicate how troubled people are by each of these 12 topics, for a total possible score ranging from 0 to 36, where lower scores relate to better outcomes.- Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  6. Change in dyspena (Aim 2)- Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) dyspnea

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) dyspnea questionnaire. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  7. Change in cancer-related fatigue (Aim 2) - Brief Fatigue Inventory

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    This 9-item scale assesses the severity and interference of fatigue based on a 0 (no fatigue) to 10 (greatest fatigue) scale

  8. Change in cancer related Fatigue (Aim 2) - FACIT fatigue scale

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    s a 13-item patient-reported measure of fatigue. Items are scored on a 0 - 4 response scale with anchors ranging from "Not at all" to "Very much so".

  9. Circulating levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) (Aim 3)

    Time frame: Prior to start of 12 week program and after the end of the 12 week program

    All flow cytometry assessments will be performed in the Flow & Image Cytometry Shared Resource (FICSR). A key outcome will be the quantification of immunosuppressive MDSCs, which play an important role in lung cancer prognosis. Myeloid cells (CD45+ CD11b+CD33+) will be assessed for both major human MDSC subsets, polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and monocytic MDSCs. For analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, cells will first be collected over a Ficoll-Hypaque gradient, where both MDSC subsets, as well as all other immune populations analyzed will reside. Polymorphonuclear-MDSCs will be defined as CD11b+CD33+HLA-DR-CD14-CD15+CD66b+, whereas M-MDSCs will be defined as CD11b+CD33+HLA-DRlo/- CD14+CD15-CD66b-.

  10. Circulating levels conventional T cell populations (CD3+) (Aim 3)

    Time frame: Prior to start of 12 week program and after the end of the 12 week program

    All flow cytometry assessments will be performed in the FICSR. Will be stratified based on CD4 or CD8 expression, and will be further defined by their differentiation, activation, or exhaustion states.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Proportion of eligible patients who elected to participate in the trial (Acceptability) (Aim 1)

    Time frame: Up to 12 weeks

    Enrollment rate will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies overall and by race and ethnicity.

  2. Attrition rate (Feasibility) (Aim 1)

    Time frame: At 6 and 12 weeks

    An acceptable attrition rate will be defined as < 20%.

  3. Patient-reported barriers to and facilitators of participation and sustained participation (Feasibility) (Aim 1)

    Time frame: At 6 and 12 weeks

  4. Barriers to and facilitators (Aim 1)

    Time frame: At 6 and 12 weeks

    Identified as important for influencing exercise behavior among cancer survivors will be examined by gender and race, particularly those identified by lung cancer survivors, including social determinants of health. Will primarily use quantifiable Likert scales to rate the importance of each facilitator and barrier. Open-ended items will be included to collect factors not captured through closed survey questions.

  5. Satisfaction with RMT and RMT-sham sessions (Aim 1)

    Time frame: At 6 and 12 weeks

    Will be evaluated by a survey assessment using patient-reported satisfaction with different intervention components using 0 to 10 Likert rating scales.

  6. Exercise related dyspnea (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Up to 3 months follow-up

    Will be assessed immediately following performance tests with the 0-10 Borg scale. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  7. Change in general quality of life (QoL) (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be assessed using European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-30. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  8. Change in disease-specific QoL (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be assessed using European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Lung Cancer 13. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  9. Change in 2-minute step test (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be Will be assessed to measure cardiorespiratory fitness that correlates with the 6-minute walk test. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  10. Change in 30 second sit-to-stand test (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be assessed to measure lower extremity strength. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  11. Change in sleep (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Epworth daytime sleepiness scale. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  12. Change in leisure-time physical activity (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be assessed using the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  13. Change in physical activity and daily steps (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be objectively monitored with an activity tracker. Fitness trackers will be synchronized during weekly follow-ups. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  14. Change in pain (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be assessed using pain questions taken from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-29 questionnaire which assess pain intensity and interference. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  15. Change in peak inspiratory and expiratory muscle strength (Aim 2)

    Time frame: Through study completion up to 7 months

    Will be assessed using pa hand-held monometer. Will be summarized using the appropriate descriptive statistics and graphical summaries. Continuous variables will be summarized using the mean, median, standard deviation, and percentiles. Categorical variables will be summarized using frequencies and relative frequencies. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics may be compared between study arms using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. Will also be assessed using LMMs.

  16. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Aim 3)

    Time frame: Prior to start of 12 week program and after the end of the 12 week program

    Will be measured with a Roche COBAS 8000 chemistry analyzer.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Lung Cancer Better Breathing Study

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2028
First posted
Mar 11, 2025
Registry last updated
May 28, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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