# Supplement - PRANAYAMA BASED GROUP VIDEO APP FOR CANCER SURVIVORSHIP. Phase I. Breast Cancer Pilot

> **NIH NIH R41** · PRANASCIENCE INSTITUTE LLC · 2021 · $66,588

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cancer remains the second leading cause of deaths in the U.S. Encouragingly, recent improvements in early
diagnosis and treatment has led to significant increases in the survival rate of cancer patients. As cancer
becomes a chronic but manageable disease for thousands of survivors, the long-term physical and psychological
side effects of treatment protocols is becoming more apparent, as is the impact of these issues on disease-free
or overall survival. As a result of this changing landscape, survivorship care programs and approaches that
incorporate non-pharmacological lifestyle and mind-body interventions are becoming increasingly critical
components of the patient treatment pathway. In this regard, aspects of meditation and yoga such as yogic
breathing (YB), a collection of techniques to voluntarily regulate breathing, has emerged as an effective
complementary therapy for cancer patients. YB is well-established to induce strong relaxation responses via
vagal and parasympathetic stimulation. In this application, PranaScience seeks to develop a novel group video
app for YB that is optimized for home-based delivery of a proscribed YB program that is maximally effective in
reducing symptomatic conditions associated with cancer treatment and survival. This intervention is based on
compelling preliminary studies conducted by the PI of this proposal demonstrating that specific YB exercises
induce alterations in the levels of proteins associated with tumor suppression, immune regulation,
neuromodulation, and stress response/ inflammation, as well as pilot studies performed in collaboration with the
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) indicating that cancer survivors are interested in a YB intervention
and perceive improvements in well-being after YB sessions. In this Phase I STTR, PranaScience will (1) build a
first production version of a group video YB app and (2) partner with MUSC to pilot test the YB app in breast
cancer survivors to evaluate adherence, feasibility, and acceptability of the app to support symptom
management. App usage data will be collected and used to evaluate adherence to the program, and acceptability
for symptom management will be evaluated using a series of defined biobehavioral measures at baseline and
following a 12-week implementation period. Exploratory salivary and fingernail biomarker analysis focused on
tumor suppressors, inflammatory cytokines, proteome level alterations, and stress hormones will be performed
at baseline and at week 12. Structured, focused interviews of study participants will be used to assess technology
perception/ program feasibility and will inform future design optimizations. Findings from this Phase I program
will be synthesized to refine the group video YB app in preparation for large-scale evaluation in Phase II,
ultimately resulting in a scalable, low-cost resource that accelerates recovery from treatment and supports
sustainable health in all-site cancer survivors, wit...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10481777
- **Project number:** 3R41CA254557-01A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** PRANASCIENCE INSTITUTE LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** SUNDARAVADIVEL BALASUBRAMANIAN
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $66,588
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10481777

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10481777, Supplement - PRANAYAMA BASED GROUP VIDEO APP FOR CANCER SURVIVORSHIP. Phase I. Breast Cancer Pilot (3R41CA254557-01A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10481777. Licensed CC0.

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