Exercise reduces risk among Caucasians but not among African-Americans
For some men, exercise may have a positive impact on prostate cancer risk. For instance, previous studies have shown exercise can reduce a Caucasian man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. Furthermore, a new study shows that for Caucasian men who already have prostate cancer, exercise may reduce their risk of having more serious forms of the disease. However, the same study, published early online in Cancer, shows that the exercise benefits do not seem to apply to African-American men.
To investigate the effects of exercise on prostate cancer in Caucasian and African-American men, Lionel L. Bañez, MD, of the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and colleagues conducted a study involving 307 men (164 white; 143 black) undergoing a prostate biopsy. The men were asked to complete an exercises assessment regarding weekly physical activity. Exercise categories included sedentary, mildly active, moderately active, and highly active.
Study results showed that, among Caucasians, those who were moderately or highly active were 53% less likely to have positive biopsy results for prostate cancer compared with sedentary or mildly active men. However, there was no association between amount of exercise and prostate cancer among black men.
Bañez and team also investigated whether exercise affected the grade of tumors found in men who did develop prostate cancer. The researchers discovered that those with prostate cancer who exercised had a 13% reduced risk of having high-grade disease. Yet, when this relationship was further explored as a function of race, it remained significant in Caucasians but not in African-Americans.
“These findings that African-American men may not benefit from exercise the way Caucasian men do could be a contributor to why African-American race is a risk factor for prostate cancer and aggressive prostate cancer. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanism behind this racial disparity in deriving cancer-related benefits from exercise which disfavors African-American men,” said Bañez.
Source: Wiley.