Publications by authors named "Nicolas Hart"
People affected by breast cancer experience a multitude of toxicities and unmet needs across physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and economic domains that adversely impact their quality of life. High-quality and diverse supportive care is required to improve outcomes and rehabilitation for people affected by breast cancer. However, the availability and access to high-quality supportive care services is limited due to factors including cost and demand.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study compared the physical activity level of men with metastatic prostate cancer at baseline of the multicentre INTERVAL-GAP4 trial to the American Cancer Society guidelines and examined associations with physical fitness.
Methods: A total of 140 men on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) were included in this cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the INTERVAL-GAP4 trial. Exclusion criteria included a maximum of 1 h of vigorous aerobic exercise or one structured resistance exercise session per week but no restrictions on habitual physical activity.
Purpose: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prevalent and distressing symptom experienced by people affected by cancer. A breakdown of the clinician-patient partnership and suboptimal clinician communication has been identified as a significant barrier to implementing into clinical practice effective self-management strategies for CRF. This study examined the use and impact of communication practices employed by trained cancer nurse counsellors when providing CRF self-management support to cancer survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - The study aimed to investigate whether adding creatine supplementation to resistance exercise could offer more benefits for men with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) than resistance exercise alone, particularly in terms of lean mass, strength, and physical function.
- - Conducted over 12 weeks with 30 participants, the trial compared two groups: one performing resistance exercise with a placebo and the other with creatine, both achieving significant improvements in lean mass, muscle strength, and physical function.
- - The results showed that while both groups experienced similar improvements in the measured outcomes, there were no significant differences between the groups, suggesting that creatine supplementation doesn't provide additional benefits over resistance exercise alone.
Article Synopsis
- Many cancer survivors often have other health problems (multimorbidity), which makes their care more complicated and costly.
- A study asked health professionals and cancer survivors about what is most important for their care and research, resulting in a list of principles and supports they agreed on.
- The study found that focusing on survivorship, self-management, and peer support is essential for helping cancer survivors manage their health better.
Objective Chronic disease is common in people with cancer. However, the utilisation of Medicare chronic disease management (CDM) items for cancer patients in Australia remains unexplored. This study investigates Medicare CDM item numbers relating to people with cancer, including general practitioner (GP) and allied health CDM item numbers, and any associated sociodemographic factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPre-clinical murine and in vitro models have demonstrated that exercise suppresses tumour and cancer cell growth. These anti-oncogenic effects of exercise were associated with the exercise-mediated release of myokines such as interleukin (IL)-15. However, no study has quantified the acute IL-15 response in human cancer survivors, and whether physiological adaptations to exercise training (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Little is known about cancer-related cognitive impairments (CRCI) in women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). The purpose of this study is to (1) comprehensively describe CRCI and any associated psychosocial and behavioral symptoms, (2) determine observable sociodemographic and clinical risk factors for CRCI, and (3) explore cognitive and psychosocial predictors of quality of life and social functioning in women living with MBC.
Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, women with MBC completed assessments (objective and subjective measures of CRCI including 3 open-ended questions, measures of psychosocial and behavioral factors, and assessments of quality of life and social function), and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, qualitative content analysis, correlation analyses, t tests, analysis of variance, and linear regression models.
Objectives: Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed worldwide, resulting in significant physical and psychological consequences. In this narrative review, we explore the role of exercise as an adjunct therapy to counteract health issues experienced by people before, during and after treatment for lung cancer, and offer recommendations for exercise prescription and future research.
Design: Narrative cornerstone review.
Objective: There are inconsistent reports of factors relating to injury, illness and tactical performance in law enforcement recruits. Our objectives were to: (1) report physical and psychological risk factors and protective factors for injury and illness and (2) report physical and psychological risk factors and protective factors for tactical performance success.
Design: Systematic epidemiological review.
Avoiding the pitfalls of the DSM-5: A primer for health professionals.
Gen Hosp Psychiatry
September 2024
(1) : A significant proportion of cancer survivors report experiencing a cognitive 'fog' that affects their ability to think coherently and quickly, and reason with clarity. This has been referred to as cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI). CRCI has extensive impacts on the daily lives of people living with or beyond cancer, including occupational, social, and psychological functioning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Service referrals are required for cancer survivors to access specialist dietary and exercise support. Many system-level factors influence referral practices within the healthcare system. Hence, the aim of this study was to identify system-level factors and their interconnectedness, as well as strategies for optimising dietary and exercise referral practices in Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many cancer survivors experience cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI), often with significant negative consequences across various life domains. Emerging evidence suggests that allowing additional time to process information before acting may be a useful strategy for those with CRCI to mitigate some of its impacts. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), a measure of general cognition, has shown that for some cancer survivors, longer task completion time facilitates similar task performance outcomes to control populations concerning perseveration errors; a key performance metric of the WCST.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMental health for cancer survivors in both research and clinical applications has strongly adopted a traditional nosological approach, involving the classification of psychopathology into discrete disorders. However, this approach has recently faced considerable criticism due to issues such as high comorbidity and within-disorder symptom heterogeneity across populations. Moreover, there are additional specific issues impacting the validity of traditional approaches in cancer survivorship populations, including the physiological effects of cancer and its treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To identify the key attributes of breast cancer follow-up care models preferred by cancer survivors in Australia.
Methods: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted to elicit preferences for attributes of breast cancer follow-up care. Respondents were presented with two hypothetical scenarios, known as choice sets, and asked to select a preference.
Purpose: People with advanced or metastatic cancer and their caregivers may have different care goals and face unique challenges compared with those with early-stage disease or those nearing the end of life. These Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC)-ASCO standards and practice recommendations seek to establish consistent provision of quality survivorship care for people affected by advanced or metastatic cancer.
Methods: A MASCC-ASCO expert panel was formed.
Purpose: People with advanced or metastatic cancer and their caregivers may have different care goals and face unique challenges compared to those with early-stage disease or those nearing the end-of-life. These MASCC-ASCO standards and practice recommendations seek to establish consistent provision of quality survivorship care for people affected by advanced or metastatic cancer.
Methods: An expert panel comprising MASCC and ASCO members was formed.
Article Synopsis
- The paper examines how the way we understand psychopathology in cancer survivors affects assessment and treatment, emphasizing the need for a solid conceptual basis.
- It critiques the traditional diagnostic approach, particularly the DSM, highlighting its limitations in addressing the unique needs of cancer survivors.
- The authors suggest that alternative conceptualizations of psychopathology could improve research and practice in the field of psycho-oncology and question whether it's time to move away from the DSM framework.
Article Synopsis
- Lymphoma is a significant cancer in Australia, and there is limited research on post-treatment care for survivors, highlighting the need for effective survivorship interventions.
- This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a nurse-led intervention called ENGAGE for lymphoma survivors, comparing it to an education-only group and usual care.
- Results showed that ENGAGE was well-received, with high completion rates and participant satisfaction, suggesting it could be a promising option for supporting lymphoma survivors in a larger future study.