Breast Cancer Research

Breast Cancer Research in Dr. Amy Kirkham’s lab within the Centre for Cardiometabolic, Oncology, Diet, and Exercise research for Women (CODE-W).

Headshot of Professor Amy Kirkham

 

Dr. Amy Kirkham is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education at the University of Toronto, an Affiliate Scientist within the University Health Network (UHN), and a Scientist within the UHN’s Women’s Health Network.

 

 

 

 

Broadly, Dr. Kirkham’s research focuses on the role of exercise and nutrition in women’s cardiovascular and metabolic health, but with a key focus on breast cancer. Dr. Kirkham has been conducting breast cancer research since 2008, and she studies the full trajectory from prevention, to during active treatment, to short and long-term survivorship.

mother_daughter_cancer_hug

You’ve likely been directed to this page through various recruitment efforts for ongoing studies or by word of mouth. Dr. Kirkham’s lab is currently recruiting women with a history of breast cancer for various studies. 

Studies Recruiting Females Diagnosed with Stage I-III Breast Cancer

We have 7 ongoing trials that are recruiting females with a history of stage I, II, or III breast cancer. We do not currently have studies on metastatic breast cancer. 

The studies vary based on diagnostic and treatment criteria as well as the amount of involvement and required visits to our lab located at Bedford & Bloor St in downtown Toronto. Current breast cancer treatment of focus include:

  • Aromatase inhibitor treatment – this is a medication taken daily by mouth that is used to treat postmenopausal women (no menstrual cycle for 12+ months) with a hormone-positive breast cancer; Examples include letrozole, anastrozole and exemestane. We have studies recruiting women who are just about to start this treatment to those having started treatment 11 years ago.
  • Chemotherapy – this is a common treatment for all types of breast cancer; our studies focus on chemotherapy treatment was delivered intravenously (drip bag infused into an arm vein) and not by mouth; Examples of chemotherapy protocols include: ACT, ACTT, FEC, FEC-D, TCH, but most studies do not require that you received a specific protocol. We have studies recruiting women who are just about to start chemotherapy (only at specific hospitals) to those who received it up to 15 years ago anywhere.

Body mass index – you will note that some studies list a specific ‘BMI’ requirement, which stands for body mass index. This is a calculation from your height and weight and can be determined using this website: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm. 

To make it easy to determine which studies may be of interest, they are sorted according to some of the key eligibility criteria related to breast cancer treatment and the number of visits to our lab. 

If you are not sure about your diagnosis or treatment history or have difficulty with the BMI calculation, please contact the lab at womenshealthstudy@utoronto.ca and explain your interests and we can help!

 

Don’t live close to our University of Toronto (U of T) lab? 

(100 Devonshire Place, Toronto, 300 m from St. George subway station)

  • PACE – entirely remote study (no visits to U of T)
    • Other eligibility include: currently on aromatase inhibitors for at least 3 months, completed chemotherapy ≥1 year ago, BMI ≥25 kg/m2; 
    • For more info see the study website: https://kpe.utoronto.ca/pa-cancer
  • IMPACT-chemo – 3 U of T visits over 2 years, remote nutrition intervention
    • Other eligibility include: currently before 2nd chemotherapy treatment at Princess Margaret, Sunnybrook or Mount Sinai Hospitals
    • For more info, contact the study team and mention the study by name: womenshealthstudy@utoronto.ca
  • STRIVE long-term – 1 U of T visit and 1 virtual visit
    • Other eligibility include: received aromatase inhibitors for 2 total years, was diagnosed 4-6 or 9-11 years ago, no prior tamoxifen, HER2 negative breast cancer
    • For more info see the study website: https://kpe.utoronto.ca/join-strive
  • TEST – 3 U of T visits over 10 months, remote nutrition intervention 
    • Other eligibility include: any receptor status, must have had chemotherapy and finished 1 to 15 years ago, BMI 25-40.0 kg/m2, age 60-85 years
    • For more info see the study website: https://kpe.utoronto.ca/join-test

 

Current/past aromatase inhibitor treatment 

(e.g. letrazole, anastrozole, exemestane)

 

Current/past chemotherapy treatment

If you are not sure about your diagnosis or treatment history, BMI, or just want some guidance, please contact the lab at womenshealthstudy@utoronto.ca and we can help!