Forty physically inactive breast cancer survivors will be randomized into 10-week conditions of home-based aerobic exercise training or standard attention control. All participants will be asked to maintain their pre-study diet and attempt to maintain their body weight while participating in the study. Assessments will occur at baseline, week 5 (mid-intervention), and week 10 (post-intervention) by videoconference platform. Study feasibility and changes in the gut microbiome will be assessed.
Understanding the impact exercise has on a cancer survivor's gut microbiome can improve the health and well-being of cancer survivors by enhancing treatments targeting the gut microbiome. Although scientific studies support a link between exercise and the gut microbiome, rigorous randomized trials needed to confirm this causal link are limited and usually involve supervised exercise. Hence, this proposal tests feasibility of a home-based, remote-only research protocol that is more accessible to cancer survivors unable to attend supervised exercise including but not limited to rural populations. This study will also determine if exercise effects on the gut microbiome differ by factors such as race.