Effects of a lifestyle intervention on body composition in prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy

BACKGROUND: Exercise and dietary (EX+D) interventions could represent an optimal treatment for attenuating or reversing adverse effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate cancer (PCa) patients. The Individualized Diet and Exercise Adherence-Pilot (IDEA-P) trial compared the effects of an EX+D intervention relative to standard-of-care (SC) treatment among PCa patients undergoing ADT. The present study evaluated the effects of the EX+D intervention on body composition (BC) obtained via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in a subsample of IDEA-P patients. A secondary objective was to explore the association of adiposity and lean mass with mobility performance and strength. METHODS: Complete DXA data were acquired from a subsample of 22 PCa patients (EX+D: n = 13; SC: n = 9) at baseline and 3 month follow-up. Intention-to-treat analysis included data from 30 participants (M age = 66.28; SD = 7.79) with baseline DXA assessments. RESULTS: Intention-to-treat analysis revealed EX+D resulted in significant improvements in fat mass (P = 0.022), per cent fat mass (P = 0.028), trunk fat mass (P = 0.017), fat mass/lean mass (P = 0.040), and per cent lean mass (P = 0.026) vs. SC. EX+D also resulted in more favourable changes in appendicular lean mass/body mass (d = 0.59). Select BC outcomes were also significantly correlated with mobility performance and strength (P < 0.05) at 3 month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest the EX+D intervention resulted in superior preservation of lean tissue and improvement in adiposity relative to SC treatment. Results underscore the utility of implementing EX+D interventions for preserving muscle mass and reducing adiposity in PCa patients undergoing ADT.