This administrative supplement project will be conducted on 40 dyads of racial/ethnic minority prostate cancer survivors on active surveillance and their partners in a 6-month, remotely delivered lifestyle intervention. The primary aim of the parent project is to determine the feasibility of recruiting and retaining dyads, as well as implementing a lifestyle intervention during this period of prostate cancer survivorship. The aim of the supplement will build upon the parent grant to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention in improving physical fitness and muscular strength and function. This will strengthen the evaluation of the feasibility of the intervention by adding an assessment of muscular strength and function, which are factors linked to risks of secondary, competing diseases. Dr. Markofski will also measure traditional serum markers of competing, secondary diseases (cardiometabolic diseases), which are negatively correlated with muscle strength and function.
 

The supplement is an important addition to the parent project, as with the introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, many men who may not experience clinical disease progression during their lifetime are diagnosed with prostate cancer, the majority of those older than 65 years of age that have low- to intermediate-risk disease are more likely to die from competing causes other than prostate cancer. Together, this means that treating the whole patient—not just the prostate cancer—during active surveillance is essential to the overall health of the individual and to promote healthy aging.

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The supplement project will be carried out by Dr. Melissa Markofski, an ESI at University of Houston. She will be mentored by Dr. Lorna McNeill in the Department of Health Disparities at MD Anderson (MDA), Dr. Jeri Kim in the Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at MDA, and Dr. Karen Basen-Engquist in the Department of Behavioral Science at MDA. 

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This project is a supplement and logical complement to UHAND Pilot Project 2 "Watchful Living: A lifestyle intervention for black prostate cancer patients on active surveillance and their partners” (PI: Dr. Dalnim Cho), and aligns with the main objective of the UHAND partnership to affect health equity among racial/ethnic groups disproportionately affected by cancer disparities.