Role of Physical Activity and Its Link with Lower Rates of Progression in Men on Active Surveillance - Editorial

“Eat right and exercise”. As a prostate cancer provider, I can’t count how many times I have given this advice to my patients. I am always afraid when they ask back, “Will it actually help”? The truth is, we don’t know. While increasing data suggest that diet and exercise may modulate prostate cancer risk and even progression in some studies, the totality of the evidence remains weak. Into this void, steps an important paper exploring the role of physical activity (i.e. exercise) and its link with lower rates of progression in men on active surveillance.

In this study, the authors assessed 85 men with low-risk prostate cancer being managed by active surveillance. All men completed a physical activity questionnaire at baseline and were categorized as sedentary (n=24), moderately active (n=46), or active (n=15). The authors then assessed the risk of grade reclassification, commonly used criteria for “progression” among men on active surveillance. The authors found that those who progressed were less physically active (p=0.056). Importantly, over time, the level of physical activity was significantly predictive of who progressed (p=0.033). Indeed, on multivariable analysis, the level of physical activity was the only significant predictor of progression (p=0.016). The authors concluded that physical activity may influence prostate cancer evolution.

READ MORE PREVIOUS ARTICLES

stephen j freedland

Stephen J. Freedland, MD

Stephen J. Freedland, MD, is director of the Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle and co-director of the Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program and Associate Director for Faculty Development at the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute. He is also a faculty physician in the Division of Urology within the Department of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai. He has served on numerous American Urological Association guideline panels for prostate cancer and co-chaired a prostate cancer guideline panel for the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Freedland's clinical area of expertise focuses on urological diseases, particularly benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. His approach toward cancer prevention and awareness focuses on treating the whole patient, not just the disease, by combining traditional Western medicine with complementary holistic interventions. His research interests include investigations on urological diseases and the role of diet, lifestyle and obesity in prostate cancer development and progression, as well as prostate cancer among racial groups and risk stratification for men with prostate cancer.


PCAN: July 2021

Novel Prostate Cancer Susceptibility Gene SP6 Predisposes Patients to Aggressive Disease - Full Text Article

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PrCa) is one of the most common cancers in men, but little is known about factors affecting its clinical outcomes. Genome-wide association studies have identified more than 170 germline susceptibility loci, but most of them are not associated with aggressive disease. We performed a genome-wide analysis of 185,478 SNPs in Finnish samples (2738 cases, 2400 controls) from the international Collaborative Oncological Gene-Environment Study (iCOGS) to find underlying PrCa risk variants. We identified a total of 21 common, low-penetrance susceptibility loci, including 10 novel variants independently associated with PrCa risk. Novel risk loci were located in the 8q24 (CASC8 rs16902147, OR 1.86, padj = 3.53 × 10−8 and rs58809953, OR 1.71, padj = 4.00 × 10−6 ; intergenic rs79012498, OR 1.81, padj = 4.26 × 10−8 ), 17q21 (SP6 rs2074187, OR 1.66, padj = 3.75 × 10−5 ), 11q13 (rs12795301, OR 1.42, padj = 2.89 × 10−5 ) and 8p21 (rs995432, OR 1.38, padj = 3.00 × 10−11) regions. Here, we describe SP6, a transcription factor gene, as a new, potentially high-risk gene for PrCa.
Read more ...

PCAN: May 2021

Overall Survival of Black and White Men with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (mCRPC): A 20-Year Retrospective Analysis in the Largest Healthcare Trust in England - Full Text Article

Abstract

Background: Prostate cancer in black men is associated with poorer outcomes than their white counterparts. However, most studies reporting this disparity were conducted in localized prostate cancer and primarily in the United States.

Methods: Data regarding prostate cancer incidence and mortality for East London between 2008 and 2010 were obtained from the UK National Disease Registration Service. We further evaluated survival outcomes of 425 cases of mCRPC in St Bartholomew’s Hospital, East London, between 1997 and 2016, and analyzed whether ethnicity impacted on responses to different treatment types.

Read more ...

PCAN: April 2021

Racial Disparity in the Utilization of Multiparametric MRI–Ultrasound Fusion Biopsy for the Detection of Prostate Cancer - Full Text Article

Background
Black men have significantly higher incidence and are up to three times more likely to die of prostate cancer (PCa) than White men. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion biopsy (FBx) has emerged as a promising modality for the detection of PCa. The goal of our study is to identify differences in utilization of FBx between Black and White men presenting with suspicion of PCa.

Methods
We performed a retrospective review of Black and White men who presented with suspicion of PCa and required biopsy from January 2014 to December 2018. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to study the influence of race on the utilization of FBx.
Read more ...

PCAN: March 2021

Androgen Receptor Gain in Circulating Free DNA and Splicing Variant 7 in Exosomes Predict Clinical Outcome in CRPC Patients Treated with Abiraterone and Enzalutamide - Full-Text Article

Background - Androgen receptor (AR) signaling inhibitors represent the standard treatment in metastatic castration resistance prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. However, some patients display a primary resistance, and several studies investigated the role of the AR as a predictive biomarker of response to treatment. This study is aimed to evaluate the role of AR in liquid biopsy to predict clinical outcome to AR signaling inhibitors in mCRPC patients.

Methods - Six milliliters of plasma samples were collected before first-line treatment with abiraterone or enzalutamide. Circulating free DNA (cfDNA) and exosome-RNA were isolated for analysis of AR gain and AR splice variant 7 (AR-V7), respectively, by digital droplet PCR.
Read more ...

PCAN: February 2021

Prospective Study to Define the Clinical Utility and Benefit of Decipher Testing in Men Following Prostatectomy - Full-Text Article

Background - Genomic classifiers (GC) have been shown to improve risk stratification post prostatectomy. However, their clinical benefit has not been prospectively demonstrated. We sought to determine the impact of GC testing on postoperative management in men with prostate cancer post prostatectomy.

Methods - Two prospective registries of prostate cancer patients treated between 2014 and 2019 were included. All men underwent Decipher tumor testing for adverse features post prostatectomy (Decipher Biosciences, San Diego, CA). The clinical utility cohort, which measured the change in treatment decision-making, captured pre- and postgenomic treatment recommendations from urologists across diverse practice settings (n = 3455). The clinical benefit cohort, which examined the difference in outcome, was from a single academic institution whose tumor board predefined “best practices” based on GC results (n = 135).
Read more ...

PCAN: January 2021

Preoperative Frailty Predicts Adverse Short-Term Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Treated with Radical Prostatectomy - Full-Text Article

Background - To investigate the effect of frailty on short-term postoperative outcomes in patients with prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy (RP).

Methods - Within the National Inpatient Sample database, we identified 91,618 RP patients treated between 2008 and 2015. The Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups frailty-defining indicator was applied, and we examined the rates of frailty over time, as well as its effect on overall complications, major complications, nonhome-based discharge, length of stay (LOS), and total hospital charges (THCs). Time trends and multivariable logistic, Poisson and linear regression models were applied.
Read more ...

7-12 of 54     Previous     Next