Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Mar 21:13:1129028.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1129028. eCollection 2023.

Effects of walking football on adherence, safety, quality of life and physical fitness in patients with prostate cancer: Findings from the PROSTATA_MOVE randomized controlled trial

Andreia Capela  1   2 , Pedro Antunes  1   3 , César André Coelho  1 , Catarina Laranjeiro Garcia  1   4 , Sandra Custódio  1   2 , Rui Amorim  2 , Telma Costa  1   2 , Eduardo Vilela  2 , Madalena Teixeira  2 , Anabela Amarelo  1   2 , Joana Silva  1   2 , Ana Joaquim  1   2 , Sofia Viamonte  1   2 , João Brito  5 , Alberto J Alves  1   4
Affiliations

Effects of walking football on adherence, safety, quality of life and physical fitness in patients with prostate cancer: Findings from the PROSTATA_MOVE randomized controlled trial

Andreia Capela et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Aims: To analyze the feasibility and impact of a walking football (WF) program on quality of life (QoL), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscle strength, and balance program in men with prostate cancer under androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

Methods: Fifty patients with prostate cancer (stages IIb-IVb) under ADT were randomized to a 16-week WF program plus usual care (n=25) or usual care control group (n=25). The WF program consisted of three 90-minute sessions per week. Recruitment, withdrawal, adherence, enjoyment rate, and safety of the intervention were recorded throughout the study. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed before and after the interventions, while handgrip strength, lower limb muscle strength, static balance, and QoL were assessed before, during (week 8), and after (week 16) the interventions. Adverse events during sessions were also recorded.

Results: The WF group showed high levels of adherence (81.6 ± 15.9%) and enjoyment rate (4.5 ± 0.5 out of 5 points). In the intention-to-treat analysis, the WF group showed an improvement in chair sit-to-stand (p=0.035) compared to the control group. Within-group comparisons showed that handgrip strength in the dominant upper limb (p=0.024), maximal isometric muscle strength in the non-dominant lower limb (p=0.006), and balance in the dominant limb (p=0.009) improved over time in the WF group but not in the usual care group. The results obtained from the per-protocol analysis indicate that CRF improved significantly in the WF group as compared to the control group (p=0.035). Within-group analysis revealed that CRF (p=0.036), muscle strength in dominant (p=0.006) and non-dominant (p=0.001) lower limbs, and balance in the non-dominant lower limb (p=0.023) improved after 16 weeks of WF, but not in the control group. One major traumatic injury (muscle tear) was reported with a complete recovery before the end of the intervention.

Conclusion: This study suggests that WF is feasible, safe, and enjoyable in patients with prostate cancer under hormonal therapy. Furthermore, patients who adhere to the WF program can expect cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and balance improvements.

Clinical trials registration: clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT04062162.

Keywords: adherence; physical fitness; prostate cancer; quality of life; rct; safety; walking football.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram depicting the study design.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rawla P. Epidemiology of prostate cancer. World J Oncol (2019) 10(2):63. doi: 10.14740/wjon1191 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. D'Amico AV, Chen MH, Renshaw AA, Loffredo M, Kantoff PW. Androgen suppression and radiation vs radiation alone for prostate cancer: A randomized trial. JAMA (2008) 299(3):289–95. doi: 10.1001/jama.299.3.289 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nguyen PL, Alibhai SM, Basaria S, D'Amico AV, Kantoff PW, Keating NL, et al. . Adverse effects of androgen deprivation therapy and strategies to mitigate them. Eur Urol (2015) 67(5):825–36. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2014.07.010 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Parker C, Castro E, Fizazi K, Heidenreich A, Ost P, Procopio G, et al. . Prostate cancer: ESMO clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol (2020) 31(9):1119–34. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2020.06.011 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Edmunds K, Tuffaha H, Scuffham P, Galvão DA, Newton RU. The role of exercise in the management of adverse effects of androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer: A rapid review. Supportive Care Cancer (2020) 28(12):5661–71. doi: 10.1007/s00520-020-05637-0 - DOI - PubMed

Associated data