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Weight
Training Benefits Prostate Cancer Patients
Exercise has been shown to help people with several types
of cancer cope with the fatigue and functional decline that
often result from the treatment for the disease. Now a new
study shows for the first time that men with advanced prostate
cancer can also reap some of these benefits.
Writing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (Vol. 21, No.9:
1653-1659), researchers from the Ottawa Regional Cancer
Center in Canada report that weight training helped reduce
fatigue and improved quality of life in a group of men being
treated with hormone therapy for prostate cancer.
Hormone
therapy (androgen suppression or deprivation) can shrink
or slow the growth of existing prostate tumors by lowering
levels of testosterone, which the cancer cells need to grow.
This therapy is typically used when a prostate tumor has
spread, or when the cancer has not been eliminated by other
treatments like surgery or radiation, or when it has recurred
after treatment.
But hormone therapy can have side effects including fatigue,
functional decline, increased body fat, and loss of lean
body tissue, lead author Roanne J. Segal, MD, and colleagues
write. Because weight training (resistance exercise) has
been shown to help healthy men build muscle, reduce fat,
and improve mood, the researchers surmised it could have
similar benefits for men on androgen suppression therapy.
Men Felt Stronger, Less Tired
The researchers recruited 155 men on hormone therapy for
prostate cancer to take part in the study. All the men took
an initial fitness test to determine upper and lower body
strength, and completed a questionnaire about their level
of fatigue and health-related quality of life.
Eighty-two men were then assigned to perform resistance
training for 12 weeks. The patients met with a certified
fitness consultant who showed them warm-up and cool-down
exercises, and supervised a weight training program consisting
of leg and chest exercises. The men worked out three times
per week, doing two sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each
exercise.
The 73 men in the control group were not instructed or supervised
in exercise during the 12-week study period, though they
were given the same type of advice after the study.
When the study began, men in both groups had reported similar
levels of fatigue and quality of life. After the 12 weeks,
however, men who were doing resistance exercises felt less
fatigued and reported a better quality of life than men
in the control group. Men who trained with weights also
increased their strength over the study period, while men
who didn't actually lost strength in their arms and legs.
Neither group improved in terms of body fat or body mass
index (BMI).
No Increase in Testosterone
The men in the study achieved these physical improvements
without any apparent negative side effects. The exercise
program did not significantly change levels of testosterone
or PSA
(prostate-specific antigen, a marker of prostate cancer)
in their blood.
However, the researchers did not check the men for anemia,
a common side effect of prostate cancer, either before or
after the study. If some of the men were anemic, that could
have accounted for some of their fatigue.
Despite this limitation, this type of study provides important
information for doctors who treat cancer patients, write
oncologists Daniel Rayson and Leonard Reyno, of the QEII
Cancer Care Program in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in an accompanying
editorial.
"As clinicians, we are often asked 'What more can I
do to improve my overall health,'" they write. This
study "provides important guidance to cancer care clinicians"
about the benefits of exercise for prostate cancer patients,
they say.
The editorialists conclude that more programs like the one
studied should be developed to help cancer patients feel
better during and after treatment.
Article Source: Yahoo Health
Article Author: N/A
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