Possible link between the two explained in new study

Jan 21, 2014 00:01 GMT  ·  By

Scientists at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) were recently able to provide a new explanation for why physical exercises appear to have positive effects for men suffering from prostate cancer. The findings were presented at the Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research.

The meeting, put together by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), is held between January 18-21, in San Diego, California.

During their presentation, UCSF researchers showed data proving that men who walked at a brisk pace for a few minutes before going in for a prostate cancer diagnosis had more regularly-shaped blood cells in their tumors than those who walked slowly.

Statistics already show that more physically-active men have a lower mortality rate from this condition than their peers who do not exercise. “Our findings suggest a possible mechanism by which exercise may improve outcomes in men with prostate cancer,” says UCSF professor Erin Van Blarigan.

Data presented by the team suggests that men who walked fast to their examinations had 8 percent more regularly shaped blood vessels in their tumors than those who slumbered there, EurekAlert reports.