Why exercise is harder after breast cancer: SVI researcher receives award for latest findings

SVI researcher Dr Steve Foulkes has earned international recognition for research that is reshaping how clinicians understand exercise intolerance in people affected by cancer and heart disease.

Steve, who is part of SVI’s Heart, Exercise & Research Trials (HEART) Lab, recently collaborated with leading researchers to publish a new clinical study. The research used comprehensive cardiopulmonary exercise testing to uncover why many breast cancer survivors struggle with physical capacity long after treatment has ended.

“Our study shows that these challenges aren’t just about being less fit,” Steve said.

“Breast cancer survivors experience specific physiological limitations that affect how the heart, lungs and muscles work together during exercise.”

Steve’s research directly compared breast cancer survivors with people living with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a condition known to limit exercise tolerance.

The study focused on breast cancer survivors who went to their local doctor or hospital because they were experiencing breathlessness or fatigue with even basic functional tasks like climbing a flight of stairs. It found that the functional limitations experienced by these breast cancer survivors came from distinct physiologic limitations in heart function during exertion, rather than simply from being ‘unfit’.

The findings highlight subtle but important changes in how the body responds to physical activity after breast cancer treatment, offering new insight into a problem faced by a rapidly growing population of cancer survivors.

“These insights give us a much clearer picture of what’s happening in the body,” Steve said.

“That’s essential if we want to design exercise and rehabilitation programs that are truly tailored to patients’ needs.”

Steve’s research is highly relevant to the emerging field of cardio-oncology and has been recognised with multiple honours, including a Young Investigator Award from the European Society of Cardiology and a CASS Foundation Early Career Scientist Travel Award to present more of his work at the European Association of Preventive Cardiology Congress this year.

Steve is also the grateful recipient of support from a Carty Signature Grant awarded by the L.E.W. Carty Charitable Fund.