Interventions for Improving Body Composition in Men with Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.

Purpose: To perform a systematic review and network meta-analysis to investigate the most effective intervention for improving body composition outcomes in prostate cancer patients during or after treatment.

Methods: A systematic search was undertaken in multiple databases from inception to December 2020. Randomized clinical trials examining the effects of exercise/physical activity and/or nutrition interventions on body composition and body weight measures in prostate cancer patients were included. The primary endpoints were both whole-body and regional fat mass and lean mass measures, with body weight and BMI as secondary outcomes. A frequentist random-effects network meta-analysis was undertaken to examine the clustering effect of intervention modalities or control groups on the outcomes of interest. The study protocol is publicly available on PROSPERO (CRD42020202339).

Results: Fifty articles describing 47 trials (n = 3207) were included. Resistance training and combined resistance and aerobic exercise were the most effective interventions to reduce body fat percentage (-0.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.4% to -0.3%) and fat mass (-0.5 kg; 95% CI, -0.9 to -0.1 kg), respectively. For whole-body and regional lean mass, combined resistance and aerobic exercise + healthy diet (0.6 kg; 95% CI, 0.1 to 1.0 kg) and resistance training alone (0.7 kg, 95% CI: 0.4 to 1.0 kg) were the best intervention, respectively. A low-fat diet was the most effective for reducing body weight immediately after or at follow-up, while no intervention promoted significant reductions in BMI.

Conclusions: These results indicate that a resistance-based exercise program alone or combined with a general healthy diet are the most effective interventions for improving overall body composition in men with prostate cancer.