Exercise Helps to Lower Risk of Death from Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed form of cancer among men, and over 2 million men in the United States, and 16 million men worldwide, are prostate cancer survivors. Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (Massachusetts, USA) and University of California/San Francisco (California, USA) studied 2,705 men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (spanning 18 years), tracking the participants’ average time per week spent engaged in physical activity, including walking, running, bicycling, swimming and other sports and outdoor work.  While the team found that both non-vigorous and vigorous activity were beneficial for overall survival, those who walked 90 or more minutes per week at a normal to very brisk pace had a 46% lower risk of dying from any cause (as compared with men who walked less than 90 minutes per week at an easy pace). Moreover, only vigorous activity—defined as more than three hours per week—was associated with reduced prostate cancer mortality. Men who engaged in vigorous activity were at 61% lower risk of prostate cancer-specific death, as compared with men who did less than one hour per week of vigorous activity.  Reporting that: “In men with [prostate cancer], physical activity was associated with lower overall mortality and [prostate cancer] mortality. A modest amount of vigorous activity such as biking, tennis, jogging, or swimming for more than 3 hours a week may substantially improve [prostate cancer] survival.”