FRIDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthDay News) -- An exercise program improves muscle mass and strength, function, and well-being in men with prostate cancer undergoing androgen suppression treatment, according to a study published online Nov. 30 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In another study published at the same time in the same journal, researchers identify risk factors for impaired fertility in male survivors of childhood cancers.

In the first study, Daniel A. Galvao, Ph.D., from Edith Cowan University in Joondalup, Australia, and colleagues randomly assigned 57 prostate cancer patients undergoing androgen suppression therapy to a program of resistance and aerobic exercise or usual care. After 12 weeks, they found that the exercise program was well tolerated and associated with significant improvements in muscle mass, strength, physical function, balance, and well-being when compared with usual care.

In the second study, Daniel M. Green, M.D., from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and colleagues examined fertility in 6,224 male survivors of childhood cancers who were not surgically sterile. They found that survivors were less likely to sire a pregnancy than their siblings (hazard ratio, 0.56). The likelihood of siring a pregnancy was lower with high radiation doses to the testes, higher cumulative alkylating agent dose, or treatment with cyclophosphamide or procarbazine.

"We demonstrated that the fertility of male childhood cancer survivors is impaired," Green and colleagues conclude. "These data may be used to counsel patients and their parents before initiation of treatment regarding their future fertility."

Abstract - Galvao
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Abstract - Green
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