Exercise and Treatment-Related Toxicity to Be Studied in Men With Advanced Prostate Cancer
Posted: Monday, December 9, 2019
Malcolm Brown, PhD, of Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom, and colleagues are designing a feasibility trial that aims to measure the utility of a home-based exercise intervention to manage treatment-related side effects in men with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer. The research design, published in Pilot and Feasibility Studies, will help inform future studies and the implementation of larger randomized control trials that will determine the efficacy of exercise as a prescribed treatment option for cancer care.
“Collecting such evidence provides further support for exercise in this paradigm and potential for its inclusion as a low-toxicity therapy in standard cancer care, in the longer term,” the authors stated.
The investigators plan to recruit 30 men with progressive, systemic, metastatic prostate cancer. Each patient will be prescribed a specific, home-based, moderate-intensity exercise regimen with aerobic and strength training components for 12 weeks. Supplementary education materials and behavioral change consultations will be provided throughout the intervention. The primary objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of the exercise design for men with metastatic disease.
During consultations, clinicians will assess general physical fitness using timed sit-to-stand testing and a 6-minute walking test. For a week prior to each visit, objective activity levels will be measured using an accelerometer, both for the feasibility of the technology and data-quality analyses. The Office for Research Ethics Committees Northern Ireland has already approved the study.
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
