Avocado Consumption and Cellular Aging in Breast Cancer Survivors

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Daily Avocado Consumption: Participants follow their usual diet and consume one avocado per day for 4 months

Study summary

Women with breast cancer are at increased risk of comorbidities and premature mortality, potentially due to accelerated biological aging. Telomere attrition has been proposed as a biomarker of this process, which could be mitigated through interventions targeting behavioral factors such as diet. In recent years, avocado has drawn attention in nutritional research due to its unique nutritional profile.

Main objective: To evaluate the effect of consuming one avocado per day on biological aging-measured by telomere length-in breast cancer survivors, compared to a habitual diet (less than two avocados per week). Secondary objectives include changes in telomerase activity and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Additional objectives include classical cardiovascular disease markers (glucose metabolism, lipid profile, blood pressure); anthropometric measurements; symptoms of depression and anxiety; quality of life and fatigue; and diet quality.

Methodology: A randomized controlled parallel-group trial involving 120 breast cancer survivors. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (one avocado per day) or the control group (habitual diet with fewer than two avocados per week) and followed for 4 months. At baseline and the end of the intervention, a general questionnaire will be administered; blood and urine samples will be collected; anthropometric and blood pressure measurements will be taken; and diet, physical activity, symptoms of depression and anxiety, quality of life, and fatigue will be assessed. Mean changes from baseline to the end of the intervention in the primary outcome (telomere length) and secondary outcomes (inflammation, oxidative stress, classical cardiovascular disease markers, anthropometric measures, symptoms of depression and anxiety, quality of life, and diet) will be compared between the intervention and control groups using linear regression models.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Change from baseline in leukocyte telomere length — Participants will be followed for 4 months. Measurements will be done before and after 4 months.
  Telomere length (TL) analysis will be performed employing the traditional real-time PCR(1) method (Cawthon 2009) by the QuantiTect Syber Green PCR kit (Qiagen). This approach employs the 36B4R single-copy gene as a reference for each sample. The measurements will be performed on a monochrome multiplex real-time quantitative PCR in a BioradCFX96 thermocycler on samples collected before and after the intervention. The data obtained by PCR will be expressed as the ratio of telomere/reference gene (T / S) as the ratio between the number of copies of the telomeric repeat (T) and a single copy gene (36B4F) (S)

Trial sites (1)

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