Prostate cancer survivors benefit from non-vigorous activity, walking

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

After prostate cancer diagnosis, at least five hours of non-vigorous activity or 3 hours of walking is positively associated with better hormone and vitality functioning, according to a study published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship.

Siobhan Phillips, PhD, MPH, at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and fellow researchers prospectively examined 1,917 men diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

They looked at associations between activity and sedentary behavior after prostate cancer diagnosis in terms of health-related quality of life.

The researchers found that, upon adjusting for confounders, higher duration of non-vigorous and walking activity were associated with higher vitality and hormonal functioning scores.

The effects approached clinical significance for men in the highest versus lowest categories, with survivors who walked at least 90 minutes a week at a normal or faster pace reporting higher scores than men who walked less than 90 minutes a week at an easy pace.

Total activity was found to be associated with higher hormone and vitality functioning in men who were at least five years post-treatment and had more advanced disease.

“Encouraging men to engage in non-vigorous activity and walking may be helpful for managing prostate cancer-related health-related quality of life,” the authors concluded.