Walking prevents bone loss caused from prostate cancer treatment

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Exercise may reduce, and even reverse, bone loss caused by hormone and radiation therapies used in the therapy of localized prostate cancer, thereby decreasing the potential risk of bone fractures and improving quality of life for these men, as per a research studypresented on October 28, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncologys 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

Patients with prostate cancer are not routinely advised to exercise. Walking is one tool that patients with prostate cancer can use to improve their health and minimize the side effects of cancer and cancer therapys, said Paula Chiplis, PhD., RN, the lead author of the study and a clinical instructor and senior research assistant at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Walking has no harmful side effects, if done moderately, but it can dramatically improve life for men suffering from side effects from some prostate cancer therapys.

Men with localized prostate cancer frequently receive radiation treatment followed by months of hormone treatment to treat their cancer. Radiation is used to kill the cancer cells, while hormone treatment decreases testosterone and estrogen that feed the cancer cells, thereby keeping the tumor from growing. Men undergoing hormone treatment lose between 4 to 13 percent of their bone density on an annual basis, in comparison to healthy men who lose between.5 to 1 percent per year, beginning in middle age. Men are typically not believed to be at risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures; however, their rate of bone loss is greater than that of post-menopausal women.

The study shows that patients with prostate cancer undergoing hormone treatment that walked about five times a week for 30 minutes at a moderate pace maintained or gained bone density, while those who didnt exercise lost more than two percent of their bone density in eight to nine weeks.

The study involved 70 sedentary men with Stage I-III prostate cancer, who were randomly assigned to either participate in the exercise plan or usual care (not exercise) during radiation therapy, with more than half also receiving hormone treatment. Scientists wanted to determine the effects of a nurse-directed, home-based walking program in maintaining physical function and managing cancer- and therapy-related symptoms during radiation and hormone therapy for patients with prostate cancer.


Posted by: Mark    Source