{"id":91169,"date":"2023-02-10T09:40:23","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T17:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcf.org\/?p=91169"},"modified":"2025-07-02T14:21:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T21:21:36","slug":"how-exercise-sabotages-prostate-cancer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pcf.org\/?page_id=91169","title":{"rendered":"Monkey Wrench in the Works:\u00a0 How Exercise Helps Sabotage Prostate Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Fighting Prostate Cancer with Exercise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Being sedentary, smoking, excess weight, and foods that are inflammatory: these things create a hospitable environment that encourages prostate cancer.<\/em> <\/em> Here are some things you can do to roll<\/em> <\/em>up <\/em>the welcome mat and<\/em> <\/em>slow down <\/em>prostate cancer \u2013 even advanced disease.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UCLA urologist William Aronson, M.D., was asked recently:  \u201cWhat do your patients with prostate cancer ask you about exercise?\u201d  His response:  \u201cNone of my patients ask about exercise.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, exercise is not on the radar<\/a> for many men with prostate cancer, and it ought to be,<\/strong> because it extends life, improves quality of life, and slows the progression of prostate cancer<\/strong>.  Aronson, who also sees patients at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, was asked this question at a PCF-sponsored panel discussion<\/a> on the effects of diet and lifestyle in advanced prostate cancer and survivorship.  Notably, the focus here wasn\u2019t on preventing prostate cancer, or delaying the time to treatment \u2013 although studies suggest exercise may contribute to each of these.  Instead, it was for men already<\/strong> living with cancer<\/strong> that has escaped the prostate \u2013 and the overwhelming consensus among the panelists is that exercise and diet can make a big difference<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results of several large studies suggest that exercise reduces the risk of dying of prostate cancer by 30 percent, and the risk of dying from any cause by 40 percent<\/strong>, says UCSF epidemiologist June Chan, Sc.D., who was also part of the panel discussion.  Chan is a pioneer in studying the benefits of exercise in prostate cancer.  Back in 2011, Chan and colleagues found a lower risk of progression of cancer in men who engaged in vigorous exercise.  But in later studies, \u201cwe saw benefit with just brisk walking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just what is it that makes exercise beneficial?<\/strong> <\/strong> What does it do?<\/strong>  It may help to think about prostate cancer as a weed.  Exercise may not act on prostate cancer directly, but if it<\/strong> disrupts the environment<\/strong> \u2013 affects the plant\u2019s access to sunshine, soil, air, or water \u2013 then the plant is not going to grow as well.  In other words, exercise makes the body a lot less hospitable to cancer.  Or, if you think about prostate cancer as the machine that it is, hijacking countless normal body processes and mechanisms so it can grow and spread:<\/strong> <\/strong> exercise throws a monkey wrench in the works<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise lowers<\/strong> <\/strong>insulin<\/strong> <\/strong>and insulin-like growth factor,<\/strong> <\/strong>says Harvard scientist Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., professor of epidemiology and nutrition and also part of the panel discussion.  \u201cPhysical activity improves insulin sensitivity, which is important for diabetes.\u201d  Insulin, a hormone that regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates and fat, can play a role in cancer, too; so can a closely related hormone, called insulin-like growth factor.  Both of these hormones also affect cell growth and division,<\/strong> Giovannucci adds.  \u201cIf you have higher levels because you\u2019re physically inactive or maybe a bit overweight, or maybe you don\u2019t have the best diet, those high levels will sometimes lead to diabetes, sometimes lead to heart disease, and sometimes they lead to cancers.  Prostate cancer is one of those cancers that is probably sensitive to these key hormones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Heart of the Matter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chan brought up a very interesting study at the panel discussion: the\u00a0ERASE trial<\/a>, published in\u00a0JAMA Oncology<\/em>\u00a0in 2021. Canadian investigators looked at the effects of 12 weeks of high-intensity interval training on patients at the\u00a0early end<\/em>\u00a0of the prostate cancer spectrum: men on\u00a0active surveillance who had very low-risk to favorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer.\u00a0 At first glance, you might not think this study applies to men with advanced prostate cancer.\u00a0Not only did participants have localized prostate cancer, but this was\u00a0aerobic\u00a0<\/em>exercise: supervised sessions on a treadmill, at which the men achieved 85 to 95 percent of peak oxygen consumption, compared to a control group of men who continued their normal exercise routines.\u00a0But wait:\u00a0in just three months, exercise was shown to\u00a0decrease the men\u2019s\u00a0PSA\u00a0levels and slow their PSA velocity<\/strong>.\u00a0 Obviously, more studies are needed to look at the effects of exercise on men at\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0stage of prostate cancer; in fact, the investigators noted that \u201cto date, only one exercise study has been conducted in this clinical setting<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 But still, these are exciting results!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more exciting: Participants in the ERASE trial showed improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness. For men with prostate cancer, cardiovascular health should be a concern, and improving it should be a goal.<\/strong> <\/strong>  \u201cCardiovascular disease is a major cause of illness and death for patients with prostate cancer,\u201d says Harvard epidemiologist Lorelei Mucci, Sc.D., who moderated the panel discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In related research, UCSF epidemiologist Stacey Kenfield, Sc.D., Chan\u2019s colleague in the Department of Urology, recently led a small study specifically looking at high-intensity interval training in men with advanced prostate cancer<\/em>, and a larger study is planned, \u201cdesigned to look at overall survival and progression-free survival benefits and biomarkers,\u201d says Chan. The bottom line: In addition to whatever exercise does specifically to discourage prostate cancer from growing \u2013 which is still not fully understood \u2013 exercise accomplishes what many forms of therapy do not: it prolongs life.  It lowers your risk of dying from prostate cancer and from heart disease. Exercise is good medicine,<\/strong> <\/strong>and the good news is that you don\u2019t have to sprint on a treadmill or cycle at Tour de France-level speed to achieve a benefit: even moderate exercise can make a big difference!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fighting Prostate Cancer with Exercise Being sedentary, smoking, excess weight, and foods that are inflammatory: these things create a hospitable environment that encourages prostate cancer.  Here are some things you can do to roll up the welcome mat and slow down prostate cancer \u2013 even advanced disease. UCLA urologist William Aronson, M.D., was asked recently:  \u201cWhat do your patients with prostate 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