Dr. Shore on managing fatigue related to prostate cancer treatment

Neal D. Shore, MD, FACS, director of the Carolina Urologic Research Center, Atlantic Urology Clinics in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, shares the advice he gives to patients for managing fatigue related to prostate cancer therapy.

This interview was filmed at the 2023 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, at which Shore discussed the open-label rollover study from the phase 3 ARAMIS trial of darolutamide (Nubeqa) in patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Patients receiving darolutamide, as well as other agents in its class of androgen receptor signaling inhibitors, can experience increased fatigue, according to Shore.

Video Transcript

With any of the toxicities that we see in our oncolytic therapies, not just for prostate cancer, but virtually every cancer type, fatigue is always an issue for our patients. But frankly, they tend to be elderly and many of them are sedentary; they don't have good exercise regimens. Sometimes they may have poor nutrition and some may be obese. I think it's really important to really start to not just encourage our patients to take on a low-carbohydrate, plant-based diet so that they don't get swings in glucose regulation, swings in insulin. I think there's also an incredible amount of good data that suggests patients should also combat fatigue with a regular exercise program. And by that, you know, 15 to 30 minutes a day, consisting of both a cardio component and some level of cross resistance for muscle development. I think those 2 things are very helpful for mitigating fatigue.

The transcript has been edited for clarity.