Galvao DA, et al. - This study was initiated in order to gauge the efficacy and safety of a modular multi-modal exercise program in prostate cancer patients with bone metastases. The data unveiled that such an exercise program gave rise to self-reported improvements in physical function and objectively measured lower body muscle strength. It did not display skeletal complications or increased bone pain

Methods

• The enrollment consisted of 57 prostate cancer patients (70.0+/-8.4 years; BMI 28.7+/-4.0 kg/m2) with bone metastases (pelvis 75.4%, femur 40.4%, rib/thoracic spine 66.7%, lumbar spine 43.9%, humerus 24.6%, other sites 70.2%), carried out between 2012 and 2015.
• The candidates were allocated to multi-modal supervised aerobic, resistance and flexibility exercises undertaken thrice weekly (EX, n=28) or usual care (CON, n=29) for 3 months.
• Physical function subscale of the SF-36 served as the primary endpoint, reflecting as an indicator of patient-rated physical functioning.
• Objective measures of physical function, lower body muscle strength, body composition and fatigue were included as the secondary endpoints.
• Safety evaluation was carried out by recording the incidence and severity of any adverse events, skeletal complications, and bone pain throughout the intervention.

Results

• A prominent variation was noted among the groups for self-reported physical functioning (3.2 points, 95% CI 0.4-6.0 points; p=0.028) and lower body muscle strength (6.6 kg, 95% CI 0.6-12.7; p =0.033) at 3 months favouring EX.
• No change, however, was reported between groups for lean mass (p=0.584), fat mass (p=0.598), or fatigue (p=0.964).
• The occurrences of exercise-related adverse events or skeletal fractures were absent.
• Differences were not found with regard to the bone pain, between EX and CON (p=0.507).