Vigorous exercise may prevent progression of low-risk prostate cancer

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Sitemaster

The idea that exercise and physicial fitness may be associated with a reduction in risk of disease progression in men with relatively low-risk prostate cancer is?hardly new, but a study to be presented today at the Genitourinary Cancer Symposium in San Francisco may put a whole new spin on this idea.

Magbanua et al. have carried out a sophisticated analysis of the expression of genes in normal prostate tissues of a group of 84 patients diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer who were being managed with active surveillance.?

The 84 patients were all asked to complete a (brief) questionnaire about their physical activity and categorized into two groups as follows:

• Men who took ? 3 hours of vigorous physical activity each week (Group A)
• Men who took < 3 hours of vigorous physical activity each week (Group B)

They then set out to investigate whether there was any correlation between gene expression and level of physical activity among the patients.

Here is what they found:

• 70/84 participants (83 percent) completed the questionnaire.
• 23/70 participants met criteria for Group A.
• 47/70 participants met criteria for Group B.
• Gene expression analysis showed that
  • Men in Group A expressed 184 significant genes differently to men in Group B.
  • Up-regulated genes included the known tumor suppressors, BRCA1 and BRCA2.
  • Genes associated with cell cycle and DNA repair pathways were positively modulated in men in Group A compared to men in Group B.
  • The duration of vigorous PA was important.

The implication of this study is that men who take more exercise have a greater capacity for ?normalization? of expression of genes that may impact a variety of factors that affect health over time, thus leading to a greater inbuilt capacity to resist progression of milder forms of prostate cancer.

It is relevant in considering these data to understand that in 2011 this reasearch team published data from two other studies, showing that

• Men with prostate cancer who?took ? 3?h of vigorous physical activity each week had about a 50 percent lower risk of death from all illnesses, and a 60 percent lower risk of death from prostate cancer, compared to men who?took ??1 h of vigorous physical activity each week (see Kenfield et al.)
• Men who exercised by walking at ? 3 miles/h had about half the risk of prostate cancer progression?as men who walked at?? 2 miles/h (see Richman et al.)

While it is far too early to be able to say with absolute conviction that 3+ hours of vigorous exercise each week can significantly lower risk of progressive prostate cancer in men with low-risk disease, there is an accumulating body of strong scientific evidence that is increasingly supportive of this concept. This evidence also suggests that men who exercise vigorously may also ? de facto ? be at lower risk for clinically significant prostate cancer.

We need data from larger, prospective studies to really appreciate the significance of these findings ? but?we already know that exercise is a good thing, particularly as one ages. Time to get off the couch guys!

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Filed under: Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Prevention, Uncategorized Tagged: | activity, exercise, low risk, preventiuon, progression

Source: http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/2012/02/02/vigorous-exercise-may-prevent-progression-of-low-risk-prostate-cancer/

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