Walking prevents bone loss caused from prostate cancer treatmentOctober 29, 2007Exercise may reduce, and even reverse, bone loss caused by hormone and radiation therapies used in the treatment of localized prostate cancer, thereby decreasing the potential risk of bone fractures and improving quality of life for these men, according to a study presented on October 28, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. "Prostate cancer patients are not routinely advised to exercise. Walking is one tool that prostate cancer patients can use to improve their health and minimize the side effects of cancer and cancer treatments," 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 treatments." Men with localized prostate cancer frequently receive radiation therapy followed by months of hormone therapy to treat their cancer. Radiation is used to kill the cancer cells, while hormone therapy decreases testosterone and estrogen that feed the cancer cells, thereby keeping the tumor from growing. Men undergoing hormone therapy lose between 4 to 13 percent of their bone density on an annual basis, compared to healthy men who lose between .5 to 1 percent per year, beginning in middle age. Men are typically not thought 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 prostate cancer patients undergoing hormone therapy that walked about five times a week for 30 minutes at a moderate pace maintained or gained bone density, while those who didn't 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 treatment, with more than half also receiving hormone therapy. Researchers wanted to determine the effects of a nurse-directed, home-based walking program in maintaining physical function and managing cancer- and treatment-related symptoms during radiation and hormone treatment for prostate cancer patients. American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Prostate Cancer News Articles Health risk behaviors associated with lower prostate specific antigen awareness According to a study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, health risk behaviors such as smoking and obesity are associated with lower awareness of the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), which could lead to a lower likelihood of undergoing actual prostate cancer screening. Study shows PDE5 inhibitor more effective when used on demand in erectile dysfunction European Urology, the official journal of the European Association of Urology will be featuring the article 'Effect of nightly versus on-demand vardenafil on recovery of erectile function in men following bilateral nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy' by F. Montorsi et al.in the October issue, showing for the first time that vardenafil, a PDE5 inhibitor, is more efficacious when used on-demand in men with erectile dysfunction, supporting a shift towards on-demand dosing with PDE5 inhibitors in this patient group. Satisfaction and regret after radical prostatectomy procedures studied Studies have shown that approximately 16% of patients with localised prostate cancer regret their treatment choice. European Urology, the official journal of the European Association of Urology, will be publishing an article by J.W. Moul et al. comparing differences in satisfaction and regret between patients who underwent open retropubic radical prostatectomy and robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. State's first single incision robotic kidney removal For the first time in Michigan, a diseased kidney has been surgically removed at Henry Ford Hospital using highly sophisticated 3D robotics through a single incision. Anti-tumor effects are enhanced by inhibiting 2 pathways rather than 1 Two independent research groups have found that simultaneous inhibition of two signaling pathways resulted in substantially enhanced antitumor effects in mouse models of prostate and breast cancer. In an accompany commentary, Steven Grant, at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Science Center, Richmond, discusses the clinical importance of these studies and highlights some of the questions that still need to be answered. Why a common treatment for prostate cancer ultimately fails Some of the drugs given to many men during their fight against prostate cancer can actually spur some cancer cells to grow, researchers have found. The findings were published online this week in a pair of papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PSA screening may be biased against obese men, leading to more aggressive cancers Testing men for elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood -- the gold standard screening test for prostate cancer -- may be biased against obese men, whose PSA levels tend to be deceptively low. Study finds more PSA screening awareness needed among high-risk groups In one of the first examinations of PSA screening in younger men, a study published by researchers at Duke Medicine's Prostate Center finds that one-fifth of men under age 50 reported undergoing a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test to detect prostate cancer in the previous year, yet only one in three young black men reported ever having a PSA test in the previous year. Exposure to Agent Orange linked to prostate cancer in Vietnam veterans UC Davis Cancer Center physicians today released results of research showing that Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange have greatly increased risks of prostate cancer and even greater risks of getting the most aggressive form of the disease as compared to those who were not exposed. Disparities in prostate cancer treatment suggest ways to improve care Quality of care varies greatly for the treatment of men with early-stage prostate cancer by region of the country and category of health care facility, suggesting the potential for improved patient outcomes with more standard treatment protocols. More Prostate Cancer News Articles |
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