The Group-basEd Telehealth behavioral WEight Loss Program Among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Pilot and Feasibility Study

Objective: Obesity is related to the recurrence of breast cancer. In-person groups or individual telephone counseling currently comprise the behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs tested for cancer survivors. Group support via telehealth may be convenient and provide support from fellow survivors, but feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy testing are needed.

Methods: A single-arm, 6-month BWL program was conducted for female breast cancer survivors with an ECOG performance 0 or 1, BMI > 25 kg/m², and > 6 months from completion of adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. Participants attended 22 video group sessions over 6 months, completing acceptability ratings, weight measurements, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), City of Hope Breast Cancer Quality of Life Scale (QOL), and International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Changes in survey scores and weight (last-observation carried forward) and differences in outcomes by patients' race were computed with paired t-tests, ANCOVAs and Chi-square tests.

Results: Twenty-one (5 Black, 15 White, 1 Asian American; Mean (SD) = 60.7 (11.6) years; BMI 33.1 (5.9) kg/m²) survivors enrolled with 90% retention and 81.3% of sessions attended. Acceptability ratings were high (all > 4 on a five-point scale). Mean (SD) weight loss was 5.9% (5.2%), with 60% losing ≥ 5% of baseline weight; White participants lost 7.5% and Black participants lost 1.9% (p = 0.04). Significant improvements were observed in mood (PHQ-9; p = 0.01) and physical wellbeing QOL (p = 0.01). Physical activity did not change.

Conclusion: This telehealth group BWL program was feasible and acceptable for breast cancer survivors, yielding a clinically significant weight loss. Future studies should test this intervention in larger, more diverse samples.

Trail registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04855552, posted April 22, 2021.