Cancer Research Hub

BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence underscores the adverse effects of excess body weight during cancer survivorship, yet many breast cancer survivors struggle to maintain a healthy weight (approximately 70% have overweight or obesity [OW/OB]). Daily caloric restriction with increased physical activity is...

As cancer survival improves, rehabilitation has become an increasingly important component of comprehensive oncology care, addressing the growing burden of treatment-related impairments. Although electrotherapy modalities are widely used in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, their application in oncology remains controversial because...

BACKGROUND: Immune fitness (IF) reflects the body’s ability to mount appropriate immune responses. Monitoring IF could improve tailored treatment in oncological rehabilitation. The Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ) and the Single-Item Scale (SIS) were developed to assess IF, but their clinimetric...

BACKGROUND: Function is critically important to cancer survivors, who are at risk of losing independence and mobility. But relatively, little is known about how pain, a widely prevalent symptom, contributes to functional decline. Understanding this may lead to earlier intervention...

Despite advances in oncology, the clinical response to treatments, particularly immunotherapy, remains highly variable due to the complex tumor immune microenvironment. While regular exercise is recognized as a supportive intervention to improve patient outcomes, its mechanistic integration into personalized cancer...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with advanced cancer frequently experience high symptom burden and reduced quality of life. Physiotherapy may represent an important nonpharmacological component of palliative care; however, evidence regarding its effectiveness in hospitalized patients remains limited. This study evaluated...

Cancer survivors admitted to inpatient rehabilitation suffer from a complex burden of interrelated physical and psychological symptoms. While mean-level improvements during rehabilitation are well-documented, it remains unknown whether rehabilitation modifies the underlying structure of symptom interconnections-the symptom network-beyond reducing individual...

Physical exercise is strongly recommended for breast cancer survivors due to its beneficial effects on physical function, metabolic health, and quality of life. Lactate, traditionally considered a metabolic byproduct of glycolysis, is increasingly recognized as a signaling molecule involved in...

Patients with cancer often experience intertwined symptom burden and functional decline that contribute to falls, unsafe transfers, uncontrolled symptoms, caregiver strain, and crisis-driven care. Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as physiatry, and specialty PC both address suffering and...

INTRODUCTION: Cancer rehabilitation improves function, quality of life, and symptom control, yet access to specialized programs is limited by geographic, financial, and systemic barriers. Telerehabilitation has emerged as a scalable alternative; however, its effectiveness across cancer types and intervention modalities...

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer remains the most prevalent cancer among women globally. Adjuvant therapies can cause adverse effects that compromise physical and mental health. Exercise may mitigate these effects; however, many breast cancer survivors remain insufficiently active. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study...

Cancer remains a global health challenge, with rising survivorship rates highlighting the need for integrated interdisciplinary rehabilitation care. Survivors frequently experience persistent physical, functional, psychological, cognitive and behavioural challenges, including fatigue, deconditioning, neuropathy, pain and psychological distress, with up to...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a multi-modal exercise and education rehabilitation programme for patients post head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment. METHODS: This single-arm prospective feasibility study included patients in the...

BACKGROUND: Cancer prehabilitation prepares people for cancer treatment by promoting physical activity, eating well and emotional wellbeing. Evidence shows that prehabilitation before and during cancer treatment reduces treatment complications and improves outcomes, including survival. However, the availability of and patient...

The Irish Association for Cancer Research (IACR) Annual Conference 2025, held in Belfast, showcased cutting-edge developments across the cancer research landscape. This report summarizes key presentations, highlighting innovations in drug delivery, exercise interventions, artificial intelligence and computational biology, cancer stem...

INTRODUCTION: The impact of preoperative weight loss and body composition changes on surgical and patient-reported outcomes remains unclear in gastrointestinal cancer patients. Prehabilitation programmes integrating exercise, nutrition and psychological support can improve surgical readiness and recovery but the role of...

INTRODUCTION: A core screening, assessment and outcome set is needed in cancer prehabilitation to standardise what is measured in both research and services. Currently, there is significant variation in measures used, which limits comparability between studies and evidence synthesis. Standardising...

INTRODUCTION: Multiple osteochondromas (MO) and Ollier disease are characterized by multiple tumours in the skeletal bones. They lead to bone deformity, restricted joint motion, interference with skeletal growth and increased risk of malignant transformation. The aim of this systematic review...

: Breast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among women worldwide. As survival rates continue to improve, rehabilitation interventions focusing on functional recovery and quality of life have become increasingly important. Emerging technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality,...

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy remain the first line of treatment for many different types of cancer. The diagnosis of cancer and its treatment lead to many physical and psychological...

As the incidence of cancer rises, medical advancements have made it possible to have increased survival rates among cancer patients. However, many experience persistent treatment-related side effects that negatively affect their quality of life. At the first international Oncology Physiotherapy...

: The effectiveness and feasibility of cancer prehabilitation have been well-validated in surgical settings, but its role in non-surgical treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT), remains unclear. This scoping review aims to systematically explore the existing literature on prehabilitation...

BACKGROUND: Exercise therapy is an essential part of cancer rehabilitation. Home-based, unsupervised exercise programs supported by digital tools offer a promising way to reduce access barriers. However, guiding and monitoring exercise intensity without supervision remains difficult. Rating of perceived exertion...

: Breast cancer is the most common neoplasm in women. Despite effective treatments, sequelae such as decreased muscle strength, upper limb dysfunction, and tissue changes are common, highlighting the need for functional assessments during rehabilitation. This study analysed the morphofunctional...

BACKGROUND: Deficiency in the provision and quality of treatment specification by rehabilitation clinicians impairs the ability to differentiate effective from ineffective elements of treatment. The standardised language of the rehabilitation treatment specification system (RTSS) has been proposed as a countermeasure....

OBJECTIVE: Physical therapist-delivered rehabilitation aims to manage the side effects of cancer and its treatments. Although access to cancer rehabilitation is not yet a standard of care in many countries, physical therapists practice in many types of cancer services with...