Dance and dietary intervention in breast cancer patients with obesity: a pilot RCT
A 12-week combined dance and dietary intervention improved metabolic health, fitness, and quality of life in obese breast cancer patients, with only modest gut microbiota shifts.
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What the study showed
In the observational component, breast cancer patients with obesity showed distinct beta diversity and lower relative abundance of health-associated bacteria such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii compared with controls. The controlled trial demonstrated significant improvements in body composition, physical fitness, and quality of life in the intervention group. Gut microbiota changes were described as modest, suggesting partial dissociation between clinical gains and microbial response.
How it was done
Pilot RCT with 23 breast cancer patients with obesity (INT n=13, CTRL n=10) receiving a 12-week combined dance and dietary intervention. Gut microbiota assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing; fitness by incremental bicycle ergometer and motor tests; quality of life by EORTC QLQ-C30 and BR23 questionnaires.
Risk of bias
Very small sample size (n=23 in the RCT) and pilot design limit causal inference. The abstract does not fully detail metabolic outcomes or the magnitude of microbiota changes.
What this study does NOT prove
It cannot be concluded that the intervention produces clinically meaningful gut microbiota modification or that such changes mediate the observed benefits.
In clinical practice
Findings do not support microbiota-based clinical recommendations; improvements in fitness and quality of life are biologically plausible but require confirmation in larger trials.
Limitations
Very small sample size (n=23 in the RCT) and pilot design limit causal inference. The abstract does not fully detail metabolic outcomes or the magnitude of microbiota changes.
Technical appendix
Version history
- 1.0 · 2026-07-09 — Auto-generated under Evidence Standard v1.0
Paid access: structured summary from public metadata; consult the original study at the source.