Risk of prostate cancer may be reduced by daily brisk walks

Do daily walk and regular exercise have an impact on prostate cancer prognosis? Yes, say researchers.

By: Editorial Team | | Updated: January 21, 2014 10:38 am

Do daily walk and regular exercise have an impact on prostate cancer prognosis? Yes, say researchers. Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

Men who engage in higher levels of physical activity have been reported to have a lower risk of prostate cancer recurrence and mortality compared with men who participate in little or no physical activity. Also Read - 7 reasons why the #BeefBan is good

‘Research has shown that men with prostate tumours containing more regularly-shaped blood vessels have a more favourable prognosis compared with men with prostate tumours containing mostly irregularly-shaped blood vessels,’said Erin Van Blarigan, assistant professor at University of California, San Francisco. Also Read - Weight loss diet: How to eat healthy in a restaurant when you want to lose weight

The researchers found that men with the fastest walking pace (3.5 miles per hour) prior to diagnosis had 8 percent more regularly-shaped blood vessels compared with men with the slowest walking pace (1.5 miles per hour), said the study. (Read: Do you know these 5 simple ways to prevent prostate cancer?)

In the study, we found that men who reported walking at a brisk pace had more regularly-shaped blood vessels in their prostate tumours compared with men who reported walking at a less brisk pace. (Read: Scientists figure out how to predict prostate cancer recurrence)

The findings were presented at the AACR-Prostate Cancer Foundation Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research held from Jan 18-21. (Read: New method to predict aggressiveness of prostate cancer)

‘Our study supports the growing evidence of the benefits of exercise, such as brisk walking, for men with prostate cancer,’ said Van Blarigan. (Read: Eat walnuts to prevent Prostate cancer)

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer in men above the age of 60. Most cases could be slow growing and may even go undetected and not cause any problem. Some could be aggressive and can spread to other parts of the body and are difficult to treat. It usually presents with difficulty and pain during urination, blood in the urine along with sexual dysfunction. In many early cases there may be no symptoms and it may be detected incidentally on performing rectal exam, blood test, scan and biopsy. Advanced cases may present with bone pain in addition to the urinary symptoms.

Prostate cancer is very rare before the age of 40 but the risk increases with age and most cases are detected in the late 60s. Susceptibility to this cancer depends on various other factors:

Men who consume a diet rich in red meat and high fat dairy products and do not consume vegetables and fruits are more susceptible.
Men in the West, especially African-Americans are more susceptible than Asians
Obese men are more susceptible to it as compared to non-obese
A person is more susceptible to suffer from prostate cancer if he has a family history (if his brother or father suffered from the same). Genetic basis for prostate cancer has been identified and certain gene mutations can cause it.
There are some data linking prostate cancer to chronic prostatitis, sexually transmitted infections, smoking and alcohol consumption. (Read: Prostate cancer – what you ought to know)

With inputs from IANS

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Published : January 21, 2014 10:15 am | Updated:January 21, 2014 10:38 am

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