A major new global trial, which aims to prove that exercise can improve the quality of life of men with advanced prostate cancer, has been launched in Dublin.

The pioneering trial is known as GAP4 and if successful, it will be the first clinical trial to prove that exercise can reduce prostate cancer symptoms and prolong the life of men with advanced forms of the disease.

GAP4 will recruit 866 men from seven countries, including Ireland, and it will take five-and-a-half years to complete.

"Evidence continues to accumulate that exercise is a medicine and has dramatic effects in relation to cancer prevention, as treatment, and preventing cancer from recurring. The GAP4 project is a unique opportunity to prove that exercise acting as a medicine delays prostate cancer progression and improves survival in men with prostate cancer," explained associate professor in histopathology at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dr Stephen Finn.

Prostate cancer is currently the second most common cancer diagnosed in men worldwide, after lung cancer. Around 3,300 new cases are diagnosed in Ireland every year.

According to Dr Juliettte Hussey, a professor in physiotherapy at TCD, while current treatments can extend the life of men with advanced cancer, ‘many of these incur side-effects such as fatigue, metabolic and cardiac changes'.

"However, there is promising data obtained from observational studies and pilot work in this area on how exercise can improve patient outcomes," she noted.

The trial is being funded by the Movember Foundation, a global charity that works to raise awareness and funds for men's health. According to its programme director, Mark Buzza, this issue is ‘critical' for both men and health services worldwide.

"The question of whether exercise can extend the lives of life of men with advanced prostate cancer is critical not only for the men that we serve who have been diagnosed with the disease, but also for the health systems around the world that are struggling to provide access to the array of promising new therapies," he commented.

Previous research has shown that men who undertake vigorous exercise when they are diagnosed greatly reduce their risk of progressing to fatal prostate cancer.

The trial was launched at a recent conference in TCD, which was attended by more than 30 experts from Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, the US, Canada and Australia.