High-intensity training eases anxiety, stress, fatigue in men with prostate cancer

A supervised high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program for 12 weeks leads to improvements in prostate cancer-specific anxiety, fear of cancer progression, hormone symptoms, stress, fatigue, and self-esteem in men on active surveillance, reports a study.

Fifty-two patients with prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance were randomly assigned to HIIT (n=26) or usual care (UC; n=26). The HIIT group underwent a 12-week, thrice weekly, supervised, aerobic HIIT program, while the UC group did not exercise.

The investigators assessed patient-reported outcomes at baseline and after intervention, including prostate cancer-specific anxiety (Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer), fear of cancer progression (Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory), prostate cancer symptoms (Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite), quality of life (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core), and psychological health outcomes (eg, fatigue, stress, and self-esteem).

Differences between the two groups were compared by conducting an analysis of covariance.

Of the participants, 50 (96 percent) completed patient-reported outcome assessments at 12 weeks. Adherence to the HIIT program was 96 percent.

HIIT significantly improved total prostate cancer-specific anxiety (adjusted between-group mean difference, ‒2.7, 95 percent confidence interval, ‒5.0 to ‒0.4; p=0.024), as well as the fear of progression subscale (p=0.013), hormonal symptoms (p=0.005), perceived stress (p=0.037), fatigue (p=0.029), and self-esteem (p=0.007) relative to UC.

“Larger trials are needed to confirm the effects of HIIT on patient-reported outcomes in the active surveillance setting,” the investigators said.