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Walking
prevents bone loss caused from Prostate
Cancer treatment
Newswise — Exercise 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.
For more information on treatments for
prostate cancer, visit
http://www.rtanswers.org.
The abstract, “Effects of Exercise on Bone
Loss & Functional Capacity during Prostate
Cancer Treatment,” will be presented for
poster viewing at 10:00 a.m., October 28,
2007.
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