What effect does exercise have on the muscles of men on ADT?

This was a small study (i.e., 16 men got the exercise training and 15 did not, but all were on ADT) and biochemical changes in tissue samples from their thigh muscles were analyzed. The authors did see a decreased in the amount of a protein that usually appears with stress in the muscle sample from the men that exercised. But many other biochemical changes that have been observed in older studies with men, who were not on ADT but had exercised, did not occur.

A problem with this study is that the baseline muscle samples were not taken until the men had been on ADT for six months to a year. It looks like the negative effects of ADT on muscle cannot be completely overcome with exercise—at least not for men who had not started exercising for six months to a year after starting ADT.

 

Nilsen TS, Thorsen L, Kirkegaard C, Ugelstad I, Fossa SD, Raastad T. 2016. The effect of strength training on muscle cellular stress in prostate cancer patients on ADT. Endocr Connect 5(2):74-82. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27169606