Exercise interventions significantly improved sexual activity (SMD = 0.38) and sexual function (SMD = 0.32) in patients with prostate cancer, with a dose-response relationship observed for sexual activity and intensity- and duration-related effects for sexual function.
Exercise interventions significantly improved sexual activity in patients with prostate cancer.
Exercise interventions significantly improved sexual function in patients with prostate cancer.
The included studies had generally acceptable methodological quality with some risk of bias.
Subgroup analyses revealed that the effects of exercise on sexual outcomes may vary according to treatment modality and exercise prescription parameters.
This research suggests that structured exercise programs can meaningfully improve both sexual activity and sexual function in men with prostate cancer. The study pooled data from 10 randomized controlled trials involving 558 patients and found statistically significant improvements in both outcomes, with the strength of evidence rated as high for sexual activity and moderate for sexual function. These are meaningful findings because prostate cancer treatments—such as hormone therapy, radiation, and surgery—commonly cause sexual side effects that significantly affect quality of life. The research also found that the benefits of exercise were not one-size-fits-all: how much patients improved appeared to depend on specific features of their exercise program, including the intensity and duration of exercise sessions. For sexual activity in particular, a dose-response relationship was observed, meaning that more exercise tended to correspond with greater benefit. The type of cancer treatment patients were receiving also appeared to influence how much they benefited from exercise. This matters because sexual dysfunction is a major and often undertreated side effect of prostate cancer treatment that affects many patients' wellbeing and relationships. This research suggests that exercise may be a practical, non-pharmacological way to address these concerns, and that tailoring exercise programs to a patient's specific treatment context and gradually increasing exercise load could optimize the benefits. Future research with larger, more standardized trials would help clarify the best specific exercise prescriptions for different patient groups.
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Upload Your LabsWen Z, Ding F, Ma X, Zhu Y. (2026). Effects of exercise on sexual activity and sexual dysfunction in patients with prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. The journal of sexual medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/jsxmed/qdag170