None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether physical exercise can improve the response to radiotherapy and enhance the effectiveness of treatment in prostate cancer patients. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are a male aged 18 years or over, have a diagnosis of localised or locally advanced prostate cancer, and are scheduled to receive conventional or moderately hypofractionated external beam radiotherapy. Study details: Participants in this study will receive a supervised exercise intervention for the duration of their radiotherapy treatment (4-8 weeks). The exercise program involves aerobic and resistance exercises undertaken 3 times per week in an exercise clinic setting. The exercise sessions are 1 hour in duration and take place at exercise clinics affiliated with Edith Cowan University or the Exercise Medicine Research Institute in the Perth metropolitan area. All participants will complete assessments at baseline (i.e. before starting radiotherapy) and after completion of their radiotherapy treatment in order to evaluate treatment response, tumour progression, the effect of exercise on aerobic fitness and muscle strength, as well as health-related quality of life. It is hoped this research will contribute to new knowledge that will help improve treatment outcomes and survivorship care for prostate cancer patients by demonstrating the benefits of engaging in physical exercise while undergoing external beam radiotherapy.
Interventions
Participants in the intervention group will receive a combined aerobic and resistance exercise program alongside usual care. The exercise program will be supervised by appropriately qualified exercise professionals (e.g., Exercise and Sports Science Australia accredited exercise physiologists) and will be delivered face to face, either individually or in small groups of up to 4 participants. Exercise sessions will be delivered 3 times per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) for 4 to 8 weeks cor
Participants in the intervention group will receive a combined aerobic and resistance exercise program alongside usual care. The exercise program will be supervised by appropriately qualified exercise professionals (e.g., Exercise and Sports Science Australia accredited exercise physiologists) and will be delivered face to face, either individually or in small groups of up to 4 participants. Exercise sessions will be delivered 3 times per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) for 4 to 8 weeks corresponding to the duration of a participant's radiotherapy treatment. Each exercise session will be 1 hour in duration, including a warm-up for 5 minutes and cool-down. Aerobic exercise (e.g., walking on a treadmill or cycling on a stationary ergometer) will be performed at an intensity of 65-85% of age-predicted maximal heart rate (calculated as 220–age [years]) for 15-20 minutes per session, followed by 30-35 minutes of resistance exercise per session. Resistance exercise will include 6-8 exercises that involve the major upper- and lower-body muscle groups. Each resistance exercise will be performed for 2-3 sets at a load of 8-12 repetitions per set (i.e., the maximum load with which 8-12 repetitions can be performed with correct form). The load will be increased by 5-10% when a participant can successfully complete 2 additional repetitions on the last set of an exercise for 2 consecutive sessions. The exercise program will be delivered at exercise clinics affiliated with Edith Cowan University or the Exercise Medicine Research Institute in the Perth metropolitan area. Intervention adherence will be assessed by the supervising exercise physiologist by recording the number of attended/missed exercise sessions as well as the actual amount of completed exercise (i.e., duration, intensity, and volume) at each session.
Sponsors
Edith Cowan University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
Male
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
I) Patients diagnosed with localised or locally advanced prostate cancer; II) Patients scheduled for conventional or moderately hypofractionated external beam radiotherapy; and III) Approval from treating oncologist to participate in study.
Exclusion criteria
I) Previous radical prostatectomy; II) Patients already engaging in regular exercise (defined as undertaking structured, i.e. planned and individualised, aerobic or resistance exercise on 2 or more days per week within the past 3 months); III) Acute illness or musculoskeletal/ cardiovascular/ neurological disorder that could put patients at risk during exercise testing or training; IV) Bone metastases; and V) Contraindication to magnetic resonance imaging.
Outcome results
None listed