Moving the body lightens and the axiom also applies to men with prostate cancer. Both aerobic and endurance activity work: the more severe the psychological discomfort, the more patients get better by moving. It is the conclusion of the first randomized controlled trial evaluating the long-term effects of different physical activities on psychological distress in patients undergoing anti-androgenic treatment. The research was conducted at Edith Cowan University in Joondalup, Australia, and published in Nature Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.
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12 months of exercises
Up to one in four men experience anti-androgenic treatments with anxiety and up to one in five report feeling depressed. Then, to assess whether these patients could benefit from physical activity, the authors of the paper randomly selected 135 prostate cancer patients between 43 and 90 years of age on hormone therapy and guided and supervised them in a training program. which involved activity, either endurance or aerobic, twice a week for 12 months. Months during which all levels of psychological distress were measured. The results? It is confirmed: first, that exercise helps reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety; second, that exercise works anyway, whether it is endurance activity or aerobic exercise, as long as it is moderate or intense; third, that it is best done under supervision; fourth, that it is men with the highest levels of discomfort who benefit most. For Daniel Galvão, director of Edith Cowan’s Exercise Medicine Research Institute, the study’s findings may have immediate application. Since we now know that it benefits people suffering from prostate cancer in antiandrogen therapy, “physical activity should be prescribed to improve their psychological health – said Galvão – whether it is aerobic or endurance activity, if practiced with moderate to high intensity, it is useful for reducing depression and anxiety “.
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Anti-androgen therapy and the impact on mental health
Prostate cancer is stimulated by testosterone, which is mainly produced by the testes. The purpose of hormone therapy is therefore to eliminate or reduce the activity of this hormone with drugs that prevent its production or interaction with cancer cells. We are talking about a rather common treatment, and that it works. But that is associated with many adverse effects, for example osteoporosis, reduction of muscle mass and strength and increase in fat mass, loss of libido and erectile dysfunction.
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“There is emerging evidence – the authors write – indicating that antiandrogen therapy is associated with greater psychological distress than other treatments. For example – they explain – this treatment has been associated with a three times greater risk of depression than radiotherapy alone in patients treated for relapsed prostate cancer. Furthermore, a longer duration of treatment correlates with a higher risk of depression and of outpatient and inpatient psychiatric treatments in men with localized cancer. Psychological distress in men with this form of cancer, particularly when left unaddressed, can result in impaired quality of life. Importantly, those with prostate cancer and depressive disorders are less likely to undergo permanent treatment and are at greater risk of suicide. Therefore – they conclude – the management of psychological distress in patients should be an important clinical goal to improve the quality of life and clinical outcomes “.
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