Fitness Helps Fight Prostate Cancer

Summarized by Robert W. Griffith, MD
August 3, 2005

Introduction

Not long ago we touted exercise to battle erectile dysfunction (ED). Now there's another reason for men to undertake fairly vigorous exercise. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that men with prostate cancer who embark on a physical activity program have an improved survival rate, all other things being equal. Here's a summary of the study.

What was done

Over 50,000 male dentists, optometrists, osteopaths, pharmacists, podiatrists, and veterinarians enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study in 1986, when they were aged 40 to 75. After excluding men with diagnosed cancer (except for non-melanoma skin cancer), there remained 47,620 participants. During the next 14 years there were 2892 cases of prostate cancer reported; 482 were advanced, and 280 of them died of the disease.

In the questionnaire administered at enrollment in 1986 each participant was asked about his physical activity, covering sports, walking, and flights of stairs climbed. This assessment was updated every two years, with heavy outdoor work and weight training added in more recent questionnaires. All physical activity was standardized to give a specific MET (metabolic equivalent) per week.

About half the men reported no vigorous activity at all. The other half were classified into 4 different categories of vigorous activity. In statistical analyses for possible links between activity and fatal prostate cancer, adjustments were made for body mass index (BMI), cigarettes smoked, family history of prostate cancer, diabetes, calorie intake, and dietary make-up, including tomato sauce consumption.

What were the results?

Not surprisingly, younger men tended to do more vigorous activity; and those who were more active had a healthier lifestyle and diet.

There was no link between the occurrence of prostate cancer and the level of physical activity. However, in men over 65, there was a lower risk of advanced cancer being reported in those in the highest category of vigorous activity; similarly, there was a lower risk of fatal cancer in this group of men. Finally, the Gleason grade (a measure of the severity of prostate cancer) was less likely to be at the highest level (i.e. the worst severity) in men undergoing the most vigorous physical activity.

No such links were seen in men younger than 65. And there was no evidence of a change in the level of physical activity in men in the period before they were diagnosed with prostate cancer.

What these findings mean

The results suggest strongly that regular vigorous exercise could slow down the progress of prostate cancer, and might reduce mortality from the disease. They come at a time when similar findings are being reported for women with breast cancer.¹ It's clear that serious diseases, like prostate or breast cancer, should not be a reason to give up consideration of the benefits of exercise. Vigorous physical activity can, as with many conditions, improve the outlook immensely, as well as providing numerous other benefits.

Source

• A prospective study of physical activity and incident and fatal prostatic carcinoma. EL. Giovannucci, Y. Liu, MF. Leitzmann,  et al., Arch Intern Med, 2005, vol. 165, pp. 1005--1010

Footnotes
1. Physical activity and survival after breast cancer diagnosis. MD. Holmes, WY. Chen, D. Feskanich,  et al., JAMA, 2005, vol. 293, pp. 2479--2486

Related Links
PSA - It's the Rate of Increase That Counts
Exercise Helps Men Keep a Healthy Profile
How to Avoid Prostate Cancer?
Tomatoes Really Do Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk

Please take a moment to give us your comments. For questions about Health matters you may check our "Questions & Answers" Portal and Service.