Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( 🔒 ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Need Help

Daily Step Count, Patient- Reported Outcomes, and Recurrence-Free Survival in Early Breast Cancer Survivors

Award Number: K99CA299840
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/03/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2028

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Daily Step Count, Patient- Reported Outcomes, and Recurrence-Free Survival in Early Breast Cancer Survivors - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Breast cancer is the most common noncutaneous cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among US women, with an estimated 316,950 new cases and 42,170 deaths in 2025. Obesity and physical inactivity are poor prognostic factors in early breast cancer. Adopting a physically active lifestyle shows promise in improving disease and patient-reported outcomes due to its favorable effects on body composition, as well as metabolic, inflammatory, and immune pathways. However, evidence linking physical activity with health outcomes in early breast cancer has primarily been generated from studies using self-reported measures of physical activity at a single time point or from small-scale clinical trials in highly controlled settings, which may not demonstrate real-world effectiveness. Advancements in wearable devices have facilitated the continuous monitoring of activity trajectories in large-scale studies to collect more detailed and precise longitudinal data. Wearable devices measure movements or accelerations of the human body in real time, which can be translated into understandable, behavior-oriented metrics. Step count is one of the most accessible and widely used metrics for monitoring physical activity levels, serving both as a tool for goal setting from the patient's perspective and as a method of monitoring from the clinician's perspective. Yet, no study has investigated the relationship between daily step count trajectories after a cancer diagnosis and patient-reported outcomes or survival among early breast cancer survivors. The Breast cancer WEight Loss (BWEL) trial is an NCI-funded Phase III randomized trial in the US testing the impact of a supervised weight loss intervention (WLI) on invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) in 3180 women with stage II-III breast cancer and a BMI ≥27 kg/m2. Wrist-worn ActiGraph devices were used to measure objective physical activity in a subset of 540 WLI and control participants at baseline and at 6, 24 and 36 months. All WLI participants received a Fitbit tracker as a motivational device. After beginning my postdoc training, I was able to derive step count data from the Fitbit and ActiGraph, enabling me to track activity metrics over time in BWEL participants. The goal of this K99/R00 proposal is to develop, validate and apply daily step count metrics from Fitbit and Actigraph (Aim 1) and evaluate the longitudinal relationship of daily step count metrics with patient-reported outcomes (Aim 2) and recurrence-free survival in early breast cancer survivors (Aim 3). Through coursework and mentorship, I will develop expertise in cancer survivorship, digital health, epidemiologic and biostatistics methods, and primary data collection in oncology settings. Building on my training in oncology population sciences, I aim to establish an independent research program in Digital Healthy Living for Cancer Control, focusing on real-world evidence and leveraging wearable devices to deliver targeted behavorial interventions for diverse cancer survivors.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $168,960 )
2026	2026	DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC.	450 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cancer Research Manpower	000	1	9/2/2026	NEW	$168,960
														Subtotal = $168,960

Grand Total All Awards = $168,960

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Daily Step Count, Patient- Reported Outcomes, and Recurrence-Free Survival in Early Breast Cancer Survivors

Award Number: K99CA299840

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/03/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2028

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer