ProfessorKate Edwards

Project Opportunities

Title: Exercise during chemotherapy: examining the potential for intra-infusion exercise

Summary of opportunity:

Can cancer patients safely exercise whilst receiving their chemotherapy infusion, and could it benefit treatment and symptoms?

Opportunity synopsis:

Exercise in cancer patients is safe and can improve a range of outcomes including cancer-related fatigue, physical functioning and quality of life. Preclinical trials suggest an acute exercise bout during chemotherapy infusion may improve the treatment efficiency. It would also present an additional opportunity for supervised exercise.  However, there is little human evidence for efficacy. The current project will investigate the potential for intra-infusion exercise in patients receiving chemotherapy.

Project Opportunities

Title: Supporting women with physical activity and exercise following miscarriage

Summary of opportunity:

No guidelines exist for exercise recommendations after pregnancy loss, but physical activity could help physical and mental wellbeing of women during this experience. This project will investigate current healthcare practice and future possibilities.

Opportunity synopsis:

Miscarriage is identified as the most common adverse pregnancy outcome with up to 36% of women reporting a miscarriage by 40-45 years old. Early pregnancy loss is associated with increased levels of distress, anxiety, and depression which can persist for up to 1 year after a miscarriage. These women also have a long-term increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Physical activity (PA) and exercise have the potential to improve women’s physical and mental wellbeing after early pregnancy loss, but there is scant evidence for effect and currently no PA guidelines in this population. Therefore, the aim of this research program is to identify current practice and advice on PA, and barriers and enablers to PA participation in women following a miscarriage. This gathering of evidence will then help shape the design of studies to examine the efficacy and effectiveness of PA interventions in this population, and to ultimately construct effective PA guidelines for this population.

----------Current Research Projects----------

Exercise to adjuvant vaccinations and improve vaccine experience:The potential for exercise to enhance immune responses to vaccines has been demonstrated in several populations with many vaccines. We have also demonstrated that exercise can reduce the adverse events suffered post-vaccination, but many details remain unclear. These projects continue to investigate the effects and specificity of exercise to change vaccination experiences and immune responses.

Exercise designed for better treatment for cancer: Exercise in cancer patients is safe and can improve a range of outcomes including cancer-related fatigue, physical functioning and quality of life, but very few people with cancer meet physical activity recommendations. Exercising during a treatment infusion may improve the treatment efficiency and would also present an opportunity for supervised exercise to help overcome barriers. Currently there is little human evidence for efficacy beyond our own pilot data of safety and feasibility. Current projects are investigating the potential for intra-infusion exercise in patients receiving chemotherapy and immunotherapy to improve disease outcomes and quality of life.

Women's experiences of physical activity following miscarriage: Currently, there is limited understanding of how women return to physical activity after they have had a miscarriage, and the kinds of advice that they are provided. The study investigates the experiences of women and their health professionals navigating physical activity after early pregnancy loss.