An at-home exercise programme for metastatic prostate cancer patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An at-home exercise programme for metastatic prostate cancer patients: a feasibility trial
IRAS ID
318366
Contact name
John Saxton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hull
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
Prostate cancer is considered advanced, or metastatic, when the cancer has spread from the prostate to other regions of the body such as the bones. This stage of cancer is considered incurable, with the aim of treatment to delay disease progression. However, common treatments such as androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and chemotherapy have a number of side effects. For example, Taaffe et al. (2019) found that after six months of ADT, patients had significantly lost 0.8kg of lean mass, and gained 1.7kg of fat mass, while another common effect is a significant increase in fatigue, which impacts up to 74% of advanced prostate cancer patients, and is associated with a decreased quality of life (QoL).
Exercise has previously been shown to be feasible and beneficial for metastatic prostate cancer patients. However, there remains a need for pragmatic exercise interventions for this population, which empower patients to create sustainable exercise behaviours. This feasibility study will explore the feasibility and adherence to a pragmatic exercise intervention that can be largely completed at home by advanced prostate cancer patients.
This research will be conducted at Castle Hill Hospital, Hull Royal Infirmary and the University of Hull. Participants will be men who have metastatic prostate cancer, and are about to start treatment. Participants will be randomised to receive either usual care or the combined intervention. Those in the intervention group will receive a 12-week guided exercise intervention, with check-ups every 4-weeks. Patients will then be followed over a 6-month period, and asked to complete a final assessment after 6-months. These assessments will include physical function tests, questionnaires to assess quality of life, and a measurement of body composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/YH/0205
Date of REC Opinion
10 Oct 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion