Dennis Taaffe

Edith Cowan University | ECU · School of Medical and Health Sciences

Purpose Breast cancer treatments often lead to unfavourable changes in body composition, physical fitness, and quality of life (QoL). We compared the effects of resistance training (RT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on these outcomes in survivors of breast cancer. Methods Twenty-eight survivors of breast cancer, post-treatment (Stage...

Purpose. Breast cancer treatments often lead to unfavourable changes in body composition, physical fitness, and quality of life (QoL). We compared the effects of resistance training (RT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on these outcomes in survivors of breast cancer. Methods. Twenty-eight survivors of breast cancer, post-treatment (Stag...

Cognitive function is improved acutely after aerobic and/or resistance exercise, but it is unclear if the types of muscle contraction can influence this effect. This study tested the hypothesis that undertaking an acute bout of exercise with eccentric than concentric contractions would be more beneficial for improving cognitive function post-exerci...

Functional power-based exercise training can improve physical performance in older adults and cognitive training can improve measures of cognition, but their combined effects on cognition and related risk factors (neurological and inflammatory markers) remains uncertain. This 6-month cluster randomised controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness o...

Objectives In ovarian and other cancers, low muscle mass and density are associated with poorer clinical outcomes. However, screening for cancer‐related sarcopenia (typically defined as low muscle mass) is not routinely conducted. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) recommends an algorithm for sarcopenia screening and...

Introduction Physical activity is associated with improved disease progression and cancer-specific survival in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). However, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear, while the relative impact of exercise modes is unknown. This study aims to examine the differential impact of exercise mode on tumou...

Background The benefits of exercise are well known; however, many of the underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Skeletal muscle secretes myokines, which mediate muscle–organ crosstalk. Myokines regulate satellite-cell proliferation and migration, inflammatory cascade, insulin secretion, angiogenesis, fatty oxidation, and cancer s...

Introduction The number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of exercise among cancer survivors has increased in recent years; however, participants dropping out of the trials are rarely described. The objective of the present study was to assess which combinations of participant and exercise program characteristics were...

Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and the incidence is increasing, highlighting the need for effective strategies to treat this disease. Exercise has emerged as fundamental therapeutic medicine in the management of cancer, associated with a lower risk of recurrence and increased survival. Several avenues of research demo...

Background Obesity has been recognized as a risk factor in the development and recurrence of breast cancer and is also associated with poor prognostic outcomes. This systematic review and network meta‐analysis aimed to identify the most effective exercise, physical activity, and dietary interventions to reduce fat mass, body fat percentage and body...

Purpose The study compared the efficacy of commencing supervised exercise in men with prostate cancer before and after prostatectomy on objective and patient-reported outcomes, hospital length of stay, and urinary incontinence. Methods Forty-one men were randomised to a 6-week prehabilitation or rehabilitation exercise programme. Prehabilitation i...

Background: A systematic review and network meta-analysis was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of different modes of resistance exercise velocity in fast walking speed, timed-up and go, five-times sit-to-stand, 30-sec sit-to-stand and 6-min walking tests in older adults. Methods: CINAHL, Embase, LILACS, PubMed, Scielo, SPORTDiscus and Web of...

71 Background: Sexual dysfunction is a common, distressing, and persistent adverse effect of prostate cancer treatment and current management strategies do not adequately address physical and psychological effects. Exercise is emerging as potential therapy in the management of sexual health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects...

81 Background: Exercise is now considered an important therapy to ameliorate treatment side effects, improve quality of life and physical function however, causation of survival benefit and the underlying mechanisms is not yet established. In 2015, the Intense Exercise for Survival among Men with Metastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer (INTER...

72 Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is accompanied by a range of adverse effects including those of the musculoskeletal, metabolic, and cardiovascular systems, as well as compromised functioning and quality of life (QoL). Exercise has been shown to be an effective countermeasure to a number of these toxicities, although the effects of...

PURPOSE: The study compared the efficacy of commencing supervised exercise in men with prostate cancer before (Prehab) and after (Rehab) prostatectomy on objective and patient-reported outcomes, hospital length of stay (LOS), and urinary incontinence (UI). METHODS: Forty-one men were randomised to a 6-week Prehab or Rehab exercise programme. Prehab...

Exercise has emerged as fundamental therapeutic medicine in the management of cancer. Exercise improves health-related outcomes including quality of life, neuromuscular strength, physical function and body composition, and is associated with a lower risk of disease recurrence and increased survival. Moreover, exercise during or post-cancer treatmen...

A prominent toxicity of androgen suppression in prostate cancer patients is loss of skeletal muscle. Exercise may induce tumor-suppression through the endocrinal function of skeletal muscle, however, this is currently unknown. In this review we summarise our work demonstrating the acute and chronic myokine response to exercise and the tumor-suppres...

Purpose. Exercise is emerging as an adjunct therapy to cancer treatment; however, its role in older patients with advanced pancreatic cancer undergoing first-line chemotherapy is unclear. The aim of this study was to primarily provide evidence on feasibility with an exploratory examination of the initial efficacy of exercise in this clinical settin...

Objective Our primary aim was to compare muscle morphology (skeletal muscle mass and density) between patients who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery versus interval cytoreductive surgery for advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Secondarily, we explored the associations of muscle morphology with survival outcomes. Methods We retrospecti...

Introduction: Older men with prostate cancer are commonly affected by reductions in lean mass and physical function following androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Resistance-based exercise programs are critical to counteract the musculoskeletal toxicities derived from prostate cancer treatment and aging. However, there is significant variability in...

Purpose: To determine the feasibility, safety and preliminary efficacy of a telehealth supervised exercise programme in patients with advanced melanoma receiving checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Methods: A 8-week non-randomised feasibility pilot trial utilising a telehealth delivered multimodal exercise programme undertaken thrice weekly with asses...

Purpose This individual participant data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) assesses exercise effects on self-reported cognitive functioning (CF) and investigates whether effects differ by patient-, intervention-, and exercise-related characteristics. Methods IPD from 16 exercise RCTs, including 1987 patients across multiple types of non-metastatic cancer, wa...

Objectives In ovarian cancer (OC), suboptimal muscle morphology (i.e., low muscle mass and density) is associated with poor clinical outcomes, yet little is known about the effect of interventions aimed at improving these measures. We investigated the effect of resistance exercise after first-line treatment on muscle mass and density, muscle streng...

Purpose: To examine the effects and moderators of exercise effects on cardiometabolic outcomes in men with prostate cancer previously or currently undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Results: Seven trials including 560 patients were examined. Exercise resulted in significant effects on whole-body and regional fat mass (P≤0.001). For w...

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women worldwide and is the most common cancer diagnosis made during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. When breast cancer is diagnosed either during pregnancy or in the first-year postpartum, it is referred to as pregnancy-associated breast cancer. The aim of this review is to assess existing litera...

Purpose Resistance exercise is a well-established intervention to counteract musculoskeletal and metabolic toxicities from prostate cancer treatment. In this study, we reported resistance exercise attendance and compliance, and examine if these variables can influence changes in outcomes of interest in men with localised or locally advanced prosta...

Purpose: To examine the feasibility and potential efficacy of pre-surgical exercise in patients with bladder cancer scheduled for open radical cystectomy with follow-up post-surgery. Methods: Prospective single-group design with assessments at baseline, pre-surgery and 3 months post-surgery. Multimodal supervised resistance and aerobic exercise...

Purpose Although skeletal muscle releases cytokines called myokines during exercise, the kinetics of the acute myokine response to exercise (exercise-induced circulatory myokine level alteration) is unknown in patients with advanced prostate cancer. We measured myokine levels in serum obtained from patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prosta...

Exercise can reduce the risk of death in men with prostate cancer. Although the effect was demonstrated over 10 years ago, exercise medicine is still not recognised as a critical therapy in cancer management. Nevertheless, the evidence base is building, and an ongoing randomised controlled trial has been designed to assess whether a targeted and hi...

Background: Radiotherapy (RT) can lead to cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in breast cancer patients. The purpose of this trial was to examine the feasibility and efficacy of a home-based resistance and aerobic exercise intervention for reducing CRF and improving HRQoL in breast cancer patients duri...

Background Despite its therapeutic role during cancer treatment, exercise is not routinely integrated into care and implementation efforts are largely absent from the literature. The aim of this study was to evaluate a strategy to integrate the workflow of a co-located exercise clinic into routine care within a private oncology setting in two clini...

Background: This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized evidence in patients with ovarian cancer at diagnosis and/or during first-line treatment on; (i) the association of body weight, body composition, diet, exercise, sedentary behavior, or physical fitness with clinical outcomes; and (ii) the effect of exercise and/or dietary interventi...

Background: Compared to the general population, adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have an increased prevalence of osteoporosis. Despite the known risk factors and potential complications of compromised bone health in COPD, little is known about whether poor bone health is routinely suspected. We measured, in people with COPD...

Purpose: To analyse whether the effects of resistance exercise on whole-body fat and lean mass are moderated by exercise dosage (i.e., duration, volume, and intensity), age, body mass index, baseline values, assessment methods and prescription of aerobic exercise and caloric restriction in overweight/obese adults. Methods: A systematic search wa...

Introduction: Evidence regarding the role of exercise in pancreatic cancer (PanCa) is limited and is derived exclusively under tightly controlled research conditions. This study aimed to quantify adherence, adverse events, and changes in physical and psychological outcomes in any patients with PanCa referred to undertake exercise during non-surgic...

Purpose While calls have been made for exercise to become standard practice in oncology, barriers to implementation in real-world settings are not well described. This systematic scoping review aimed to comprehensively describe barriers impeding integration of exercise into routine oncology care within healthcare systems. Methods A systematic lite...

Purpose Cancer-induced muscle wasting (i.e., cancer cachexia, CC) is a common and devastating syndrome that results in the death of more than 1 in 5 patients. Although primarily a result of elevated inflammation, there are multiple mechanisms that complement and amplify one another. Research on the use of exercise to manage CC is still limited, whi...

Introduction Obese men with prostate cancer have an increased risk of biochemical recurrence, metastatic disease and mortality. For those undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), substantial increases in fat mass are observed in the first year of treatment. Recently, we showed that a targeted supervised clinic-based exercise and nutrition int...

Purpose: To perform a systematic review and network meta-analysis to investigate the most effective intervention for improving body composition outcomes in prostate cancer patients during or following treatment. Methods: A systematic search was undertaken in multiple databases from inception to December 2020. Randomized clinical trials examining th...

PURPOSE Androgen-deprivation therapy in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) is associated with considerable side effects and secondary comorbidities such as overweight/obesity and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an industry-led, treatment-integrated, community-based exercise program on outcomes...

Background Altering the systemic milieu through exercise has been proposed as a potential mechanism underlying exercise-driven tumour suppression. It is not yet known whether men with advanced prostate cancer can elicit such adaptations following a program of exercise. The purpose is to examine myokine levels of serum acquired from metastatic castr...

To systematically review and analyze the effects of resistance-based exercise programs on body composition, regional adiposity, and body weight in individuals with overweight/obesity across the lifespan. Using PRISMA guidelines, randomized controlled trials were searched in nine electronic databases up to December 2020. Meta-analyses were performed...

Introduction Adequate, transparent, and consistent reporting of adverse events (AEs) in exercise oncology trials is critical to assess the safety of exercise interventions for people following a cancer diagnosis. However, there is little understanding of how AEs are reported in exercise oncology trials. Thus, we propose to conduct a scoping review...

Numerous epidemiological studies indicate that physical activity has a protective effect against colon cancer development and progression. Further, the relevant biological mechanisms where physical activity or exercise may improve survival have also been initially examined. In this review, we provide an overview of the epidemiological evidence to d...

Overweight and obese men with prostate cancer are at an increased risk of disease recurrence, exacerbated treatment-related adverse effects, development of obesity-related comorbidities, earlier progression and development of metastatic disease, and higher all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality. The physiological mechanisms associating ob...

To systematically review and analyse the effects of exercise on morphological and neuromuscular muscle quality (MQ) outcomes in older adults and assess a range of possible moderators that may affect the impact of exercise on MQ outcomes. Using PRISMA guidelines, randomised controlled trials were searched in CINAHL, EMBASE, LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, W...

Background Urinary incontinence is one of the most clinically relevant side effects in the treatment of prostate cancer patients. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to analyze the specific exercise effects of supervised versus unsupervised pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) and exercise volume on urinary incontinence status af...

Purpose: Although several mechanisms have been proposed for the tumor-suppressive effect of exercise, little attention has been given to myokines even though skeletal muscle is heavily recruited during exercise resulting in myokine surges. We measured resting serum myokine levels before and after an exercise-based intervention and the effect of th...

Physical exercise is increasingly recognized as a valuable treatment strategy in managing prostate cancer, not only enhancing supportive care but potentially influencing disease outcomes. However, there are limited studies investigating mechanisms of the tumor-suppressive effect of exercise. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recogniz...

Objectives To assess the long-term effects of various exercise modes on psychological distress in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Patients and methods 135 prostate cancer patients aged 43–90 years on ADT were randomized to twice weekly supervised impact loading and resistance exercise (ImpRes), supervised aerobic an...

Background To systematically review and analyse the associations between fat and muscle mass measures with overall survival in men with prostate cancer. Methods A systematic search was conducted in CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science databases from inception to December 2020, while abstracts from the American Society of Cl...

Purpose Although exercise medicine is recommended to counter treatment-related side-effects and improve health-related outcomes of patients affected by different cancers, no specific recommendations exist for patients with melanoma. As a result, we systematically examined the current evidence regarding the effects of physical activity and exercise...

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disorder linked with a multitude of extra pulmonary manifestations (also known as treatable traits), including low bone mineral density (BMD). To date, no specific guidelines exist for the management of BMD in this population. Impact loading exercise has been identified as an intervention...

Supervised exercise and nutrition programs can mitigate or reverse androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) induced fat mass (FM) gain, lean mass (LM) loss, and impaired physical function. It is unclear whether these benefits are retained following transition to self-management. This study examined the effect of a home-based weight maintenance program on...

Background Radiotherapy is a commonly used treatment for prostate cancer; however, the side effects may negatively impact on quality of life and cause patients to be less physically active. While exercise has been shown to mitigate radiotherapy-related fatigue in men with prostate cancer during radiotherapy, other adverse effects of treatment such...

Exercise is recognized by clinicians in the field of clinical oncology for its potential role in reducing the risk of certain cancers and in reducing the risk of disease recurrence and progression; yet, the underlying mechanisms behind this reduction in risk are not fully understood. Studies applying post-exercise blood serum directly to various ty...

Background Active treatments for prostate cancer are well known to result in several adverse effects such as fatigue, depression and anxiety symptoms, impacting the overall quality of life (QoL) and wellbeing of a considerable proportion of patients. Resistance-based exercise interventions have shown positive effects to reduce or mitigate these tre...

Introduction Exercise is emerging as a therapy in oncology for its physical and psychosocial benefits and potential effects on chemotherapy tolerability and efficacy. However, evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) supporting exercise in patients with borderline resectable or locally advanced pancreatic cancer (PanCa) undergoing neoadjuv...