Power walking could reduce the risk of aggressie prostate cancer: Men who can walk three miles an hour have a lower risk Men who walked fast before getting cancer have tumours with regularly shaped blood vessels - these are less aggressive and easier to treat Men who walked at three miles per hour before diagnosis have 8% more regularly shaped blood vessels than those who walked at 1.5 miles per hour The researchers think exercise could be equally beneficial for people with other cancers Men who exercise vigorously may be at lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer, new research reveals. Researchers discovered that men who 'power walked' before a prostate cancer diagnosis had more regularly shaped blood vessels in their tumours than men who walked slowly. More regularly shaped blood vessels are believed to reduce the aggressiveness of tumours and improve the body's response to cancer treatment. Men who walk fast are less likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer than those who walk slowly Research to be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Prostate Cancer Foundation Conference, in San Diego, suggests a link between brisk exercise and a lower risk of aggressive cancer. Dr Erin Van Blarigan, from the University of California, San Francisco, said: 'Prior research has shown that men with prostate tumours containing more regularly shaped blood vessels have a more favourable prognosis compared with men with prostate tumours containing mostly irregularly shaped blood vessels. In this study, we found that men who reported walking at a brisk pace had more regularly shaped blood vessels in their prostate tumours compared with men who reported walking at a less brisk pace. Our findings suggest a possible mechanism by which exercise may improve outcomes in men with prostate cancer. Although data from randomised, controlled trials are needed before we can conclude that exercise causes a change in vessel regularity or clinical outcomes in men with prostate cancer, our study supports the growing evidence of the benefits of exercise, such as brisk walking, for men with prostate cancer. The study, started in 1986, allows scientists to examine how diet and lifestyle affect the incidence of serious diseases such as cancer and heart disease. People who walk fast develop tumours with more regularly shaped blood vessels - this is associated with less aggression. Image shows prostate cancer cells Every two years participants fill out questionnaires asking about diseases and health-related topics like smoking, physical activity, and medications taken. It also saw 572 men diagnosed with prostate cancer examined to work out the link between prostate cancer and exercise. Blood vessel regularity was worked out by looking at tumour samples - perfect circles are considered the ideal shape. Researchers found that men with the fastest walking pace (3.35 miles per hour) prior to diagnosis had eight per cent more regularly shaped blood vessels compared with men who walked slowly (1.55 miles per hour). This means that they are less likely to develop aggressive tumours and are more likely to respond well to cancer treatment. 'Our study, which provides a potential explanation by which exercise may improve outcomes in men with prostate cancer, highlights the value of multidisciplinary collaborations between laboratory, clinical, and population scientists to explore new pathways by which lifestyle factors or other exposures may affect disease,' said Dr Van Blarigan. It is reasonable to hypothesise that the same explanation could exist for the beneficial effects of exercise in other cancers, and it would be interesting to examine this in future studies.