Prostate cancer: the double benefit of physical exercise in prevention and treatment

Prostate cancer: the double benefit of physical exercise in prevention and treatment. Feature published in the newspaper Clarín on 06/02/2024.

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A recent study suggests that improving physical fitness reduces the risk of developing it.

It also helps in treatment.

In Argentina, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men: it is estimated to cause more than 11,000 new cases a year and around 3,600 deaths. The main risk factor is age (it is more common after 50). That cannot be changed, nor can genetic predisposition. But there are variables that do help reduce the chances of developing it, and physical exercise is one of them.

A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine added evidence on this point; its authors suggest that “improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness should be encouraged in adult men, which may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.”

Unlike other very common tumors such as breast, colon, and lung, there are relatively few preventable risk factors with solid evidence for reducing the risk of developing prostate cancer, noted the researchers from the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm.

And while there is evidence of the beneficial effects of physical activity in reducing the risk of developing several types of cancer, the associations with prostate cancer found in earlier studies were less clear and, at some points, contradictory.

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