Exercise And Prostate Cancer

Something of interest to all of us men, as we get older - exercise as a possible therapeutic option against localized (presumably non-aggressive)  prostate cancer:

 

Prostate cancer that has not spread is sometimes treated with surgery or radiotherapy. But this can have side-effects so many men opt for active surveillance instead, which involves monitoring the disease. All the men in the PANTERA study are and will remain on active surveillance - and they will also be closely monitored as part of the study itself.

If the participants can successfully keep up their exercise regime for 12 months, the study is expected to lead to a full-scale trial to look at the potential benefits of combining active surveillance and exercise for some prostate cancer patients.

This trial - believed to be the first of its kind in the world - would aim to test whether regular exercise can help keep prostate cancer from spreading to other parts of the body and could be a viable NHS treatment.

Study leader Dr Liam Bourke, principal research fellow at Sheffield Hallam University, said: "Evidence suggests that men who are physically active after a prostate cancer diagnosis have better cancer survival than men who aren't active. It's not clear yet how this works, but it might be that exercise affects the way some genes regulate cancer cell growth and DNA repair.

"The clinical academic team in Sheffield have been working hard for eight years to develop the intervention that is being tested in this exciting study. It builds on what we already know and is the first step towards finding out whether exercise could be an effective and practical NHS treatment for localised prostate cancer. If we show it works and is feasible, it could be a real leap forward and good news for cancer patients."

Actionable:
Here is how I got in my best shape ever (and at middle age).