Today, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) has announced a new research study which will identify whether exercise can increase the effectiveness of prostate cancer treatment.
The announcement coincides with the kick-off of PCFA's Walk for Him for Men's Health Week this week, asking local men and women to do 49,000 steps (June 13-19) to raise awareness and funds for men with prostate cancer.
49 Australian men are diagnosed every day with the disease, which is the most common men's cancer.
Scientists at Edith Cowan University's Exercise Medicine Research Institute will test whether a tailored exercise program can improve the response to radiotherapy for men with prostate cancer.
Chief Investigator, Dr Oliver Schumacher, said there was growing evidence that exercise can have a positive impact on treatment outcomes for the killer disease.
"Early research has found if men can achieve good overall health through exercise - they may tolerate prostate cancer treatment better," Dr Schumacher said.
"If we can improve general fitness - and especially heart health - we can improve the way cancer patients respond to treatment.
"For example, if we can harness exercise to increase blood flow inside a tumour, it may act as a treatment sensitiser, improving the impact of radiation delivered during radiotherapy to attack the tumour more aggressively."
Dr Schumacher, a rising star in the field of exercise oncology, said the study would involve a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise, designed for men with prostate cancer who were undergoing radiotherapy.
"Participants will undergo the exercise sessions immediately before radiotherapy sessions, with the findings expected to be translated rapidly into practice," he said.
"We'll be providing a single session of around 10 to 15 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity step-exercise to see how it impacts blood flow to tumours.
"One of the things we'll be looking at is hypoxia, which can result from lack of exercise, whereby the cells in the body are starved of oxygen.
"Put simply, if we can improve heart health and get blood pumping, we may be able to trigger a better response to prostate cancer treatment and help kill potentially lethal tumours."
"We'll also study whether exercise influences a patient's overall response to cancer treatment, to see if a higher fitness rate can reduce side-effects such as fatigue and allow a stronger treatment load to be used against aggressive prostate cancers."
"We should be able to easily identify whether the side-effects of treatment can be managed and minimised through exercise, so we can develop new protocols for helping men to navigate treatment and survivorship by integrating exercise into their care."
PCFA CEO, Anne Savage, said the study would add to a growing body of knowledge on the benefits of exercise in prostate cancer care.
"This is an incredibly exciting research study for the 18,110 Australian men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year," she said.
"It builds on earlier research by Dr Schumacher into the role of oxygen in the effectiveness of radiotherapy. If exercise can be harnessed to help overcome oxygen deprivation in the prostate tumours of study participants, the clinical outcomes of radiotherapy may be enhanced."
Ms Savage called on Australians to Walk for Him for Men's Health Week from today.
"Research like this wouldn't be possible without community support. We are urging people to register for PCFA's Walk For Him to help raise awareness and funds. All funds raised go directly to prostate cancer research, nursing, advocacy, and support."
Walk for Him invites Australian men and women to do 49,000 steps during Men's Health Week from Monday June 13 to Sunday June 19 in solidarity with the 49 Australian men diagnosed with prostate cancer each day.
PCFA will also launch Australia's first Prostate Cancer Counselling Service during Men's Health Week.
"Data shows Australian men with prostate cancer have a 70 percent increased risk of suicide while 72 percent of men who develop mental illness linked to their prostate cancer will not seek help for it," CEO Anne Savage said.
"The impacts of prostate cancer treatment and survivorship can be very challenging, and we need to make sure men don't walk alone."
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among Australian men, accounting for more hospitalisations than any other type of cancer.
"Over the past 35 years, prostate cancer survival has increased from 60 percent to 95 percent - if we keep up the pace of progress, we can save many lives," she said.
Please register for Walk for Him at www.walkforhim.org.au.
