I’m starting to wonder if there’s a pretty big link between cycling and prostate cancer.
I keep noticing how many of us have, and always have had, cycling as a fairly big part of our fitness routine.
Any of you noticed the same thing? Or am I being paranoid?
(Time to find a new saddle. )
Maybe a link with detection of PCa, since biking can temporarily elevate PSA. If a man gets his PSA tested while it is mechanically elevated, he may be more likely to get a biopsy.
Yes, that’s for sure. But it also just struck me as odd, how many of us are cyclists. Maybe just a coincidence.
I have also thought about this and I did again when Chris Hoy announced his diagnosis.
Despite the clickbait title this article summarizes some studies.
To summarise, cycling has not been found to increase the chances of developing prostate cancer
I suspect another "correlation" is that as we get older, we drift toward highly-aerobic, but less "pounding" forms of workouts. I'd guess many of us were runners who segued to bicycles to reduce back, hip or knee issues. That was certainly my course; and a lot of friends too. Starting in our 40s, so just in time to enter the PCa window!
Yes my friend and ortho surgeon had a spike to 5.5 and did not go down on a second PSA test so his uro had him get a biopsy which showed no cancer. He is a big Pelaton biker and is convinced that it caused the spikes. How long should a biker wait before a PSA test, anyone?
2 days.
Tall_Allen is most likely right. But, as weird as it sounds, I’ve been wondering the same thing - I did a lot of cykling before as well.
None of the cyclists I know have PC. but the number is about 7
My husband, who passed away 19 months ago, and 4 of our team mates were hard core, long distance cyclists. Just saying.
For those who have/had PC, are/were they riding on bikes with regular seats or the special ones with the holes in the centre? I heard this is supposed to help and bought one of these seats last summer. I wonder if there was any studies done regarding this factor?
My wife and I have cycled thousands of kilometers on both sides of the planet and I am a believer in visualization and sports psychology. When I read my first article about cycling and PC I ordered a 'prostate seat' and I take it with me when I have cycling trips. I want to know that I am doing everything I can to stay healthy and active. The seat cost $30 but my peace of mind - priceless.
to demonstrate a link you need a control group who do not cycle, and are matched for all sorts of variables like age, levels of activity etc etc.
Even if in a cross sectional study of those with and without PCa there was a difference it could be because having the diagnosis had changed behaviour.
So to get a true answer would require a massive study comparing cyclists and non cyclists prospectively. The two would have to be matched for all possible confounding factors.
The study is almost impossible and would never get done!
Yep, very true… almost impossible to verify… but, because it’s very hard to accurately verify, doesn’t mean that there may not actually be a strong link.
Same goes for effects of diet/exercise and certain supplements. Things which are impossible to do accurate trials on does not always mean there is no link/benefit/detriment. It feels like a bit of a crapshoot sometimes. And just relying on phase 3 randomised control trials can sometimes feel frustratingly thin.
I can only agree to the fact, that it does "ring a bell" among us all who have had a past with daily use of a bicycle. I have an "oldimer" Batavus with an old Brooks saddle. Used it for years every day. Since I was told to reduce bicycling not to irritate my prostate and tho whole area which was "demolished" after one and a half months of radiation therapy, I reduced this activity to zero. In 2019/2020 I was diagnosed with a high risk PC, Gleason Score 4+5=9 and aniPSA 8,02, Pi-RADS 5, and a cT3a N0 Mx. The IMRT with an older Varian True Beam proved effective, resulting in a PSA (serum) of <0.01 and free PSA (serum) of 0.02 ng/ml DCLIA Method, after four years (a result from two weeks ago). I had a short bike ride a few months ago, just to check if I still know how to ride ;-). Additionally I added Goji berries in my daily breakfast mix. No idea if that has anything to do with the results, but there it is so judge for yourselves.
Well said. The two studies cited here represent over 13,000 participants with PC in less than 0.5%, such numbers scream insignificance, and I could see at a glance selection bias in both of them. An actual correlation requires a lot more and would never give more than a correlation. Such studies cannot prove causality. The conclusions were contradictory and barely suggestive of a correlation or lack of a correlation. That said, cancer in adults is a disease of old age after exposure to constant insults from our environment. In my case, lead in gas, asbestos in brake linings, Agent Orange, radioisotopes in my work, X-rays from various sources, smoking, drinking, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from wood smoke and in my work and elsewhere, Ethidium Bromide, prostatitis, a crappy diet and thousands of miles on a Miyata 1000. Also at least a hundred thousand miles at on the vibrating saddles of motercycles and all the everyday chemicals humanity in its wisdom has plastered our suffering planet with. And most importantly, your genetics. Bruce Ames, the inventor of a standard test for chemical mutagens, once said you shouldn't worry about your environment since mutagens are part of our daily exposure. With a few exceptions (asbestos, lead, tobacco smoke for example) that is probably pretty good advice. At 74 with a PSA of 82 I wouldn't worry about bicycling. Get a PSA as recommended and if it is high, don't worry about how it got there because you will never know. I don't regret bicycling at all. It was part of my life. I miss my Miyata. These two studies imho are meaningless.
Spot on. Couldn’t gave said it better. Got a bike and like riding? Go for it!
I am 72 and have PC. Gleeson 5+5. I am starting heavy ion radiation next month and my doctor here in Japan told me I have to give up cycling. When I asked him why he said he thinks it will cause irritation and bleeding. When I showed him a picture of my Stelle saddle with big cutout he said he didn’t not know if that would work. They admitted there was no real evidence cycling will cause problems after the radiation so I offered to be a test case for them. They are considering.
Since my biopsy and diagnosis last year I would see blood in the urine regularly with the standard saddle. Now with the Stelle saddle I ride daily with no evidence of blood at all.
I intend to pause the riding for a couple of months but will start again around May.
We’ll see
I have though the same. I used (and still are but less..)to cycle over 2000 km/year for many many years.To work,to croceries ,in holidays etc.I asked my doctor and he said theres no stidies about that. I still think cycling irritates the prostate.
Just this morning cycled 10km /6,5mi to groceries.-12C/10.4F. I have seat with gel inside and take it with me inside when freezig. In these beautiful landscapes..
Do you ride that on a fattie? I have two fatties and an ice bike, an old 26" Ti Merlin with studs.
What a beautiful, serene picture.
I understand why you think this as I've noticed a number of cyclists over the years posting here. Sadly passed now but we had a genuine forum legend, Patrick Turner in Australia, who cycled extensively. On the other side he was on here for many years, so it was very difficult to say if cycling actually helped him or not. Patrick posted some long posts. A nice guy. RIP.
I miss Patrick and his perspective a lot and was lucky to say he was my friend, We corresponded quite a bit off the forum and he was an avid cyclist and rode up to a couple months of his passing. I hope to do the same.
Yesterday's Lunch Ride-Distance-26.53 mi-Elev Gain-1,135 ft-Time-2h 34m
👍👍NICE
I've got many more cycling friends without PCa than with. Always reading Bio's mentioning that "I used to RUN but knees gave out and now cycle sooooo ???? "
Look up "Million Mile Freddie" a friend who is contemplating hitting the 2,000,000 mile mark this Summer without PCa.
I've never given it a thought but then I'm STRAVA's Psycho Johnny also the Unique Eunuch 😁
That you are my friend, unique. That ride was cold on the fingers and toes and a stop at Evil Bikes for the best hot chocolate ever warmed me up nicely.2 million miles, that's amazing. I haven't taken any surveys but so far, other than this forum, I am the only cyclist I know with PC.
First time in my almost three quarter's of a Century Age that I've ridden every day in January. Tomorrow will be a challenge since the AM temperature might be in the 30's. Not too often hit here since moving in 1986. Like seeing your rides and hikes postings.👍👍
The closest I got to riding every day in January was during my RT in 2020. I was off the bike for 2 weeks and I feel it. Based on Strava I was under the impression you ride every day year round.
Year round YUP, every day NOPE until this month and this year(hopefully). When we cruise I'll be in the gym 😁 and walking decks/stairs. n+1 is recently bought 1999 DAHON 20" wheel fold-up that I hit the elusive *25mph* this week. Putting on a 20" rear 11/30 cassette RIGHT NOW if I can get it working. Bike is original old type 5 speed cluster rear so lots of making things fit.
I saw that on one of your rides. Is that something new. Nice speed and I know there were. I declines involved.
I watched a video of the Brompton races in England recently. I wonder if they will let an American with a Dahon in 😂
This DAHON is definitely NOT in the Brompton's classy neighborhood so no invite expected, 🤣 Rotonda Blvd. North was JUST paved with a nice tail wind helped this geezer wind up that 60tooth chainring.
60, damn!
Can't you take that on the next cruise? They'll never know until your doing laps on the deck and doing gap jumps over the pool.
🤔-- with the travel bag I got with it maybe 🤫 ?????
I also was a professional cyclist. Time trialer so I was always grinding on the saddle for max power to stay at 34mph
I became a cyclist after my RP and initial radiation. More of my non cyclist friends have PC than my cyclist friends.
From the responses above it is obvious that most of us who cycle have wondered the same thing. As a cyclist since the early 1970's and a bike shop owner since the 1980's I have encountered plenty of guys with prostate cancer. But while I would say the incidence seems to be higher among cyclists I would hesitate to draw any conclusions. It would be interesting to see if oncologists have kept records about cycling habits among their patients.
I'm all in with your thoughts. I started cycling at 30 years old when I was 57 my annual check up showed elevated PSA. I did my research on this and told my provider that I would stay off the bike for a month and then recheck the numbers. Sure enough the numbers dropped from 4.7 to 4.0. He suggested that I still get a biopsy which I did. I got the news prostate cancer. I'm now going to be 74 in April and been on lupron for almost 4 years. I work out intensely 3 days a week. Psa now has been undetected for over a year. Good luck and stay strong.
I did a good amt of cycling in my 40's. I at times wondered myself. If cycling increases psa it is more likely from inflamation. Maybe that inflamation can create a cancer prone enviroment over time. You may be on to something, Think about how often and the distance one rides , psa levels could constantly be higher. Road bikes may be more of a culprit. My rule is to not discount any passing thoughts.
I think you may see it more because you are a cycler- so you 'see' more cyclers. Just like when you are looking to buy a certain car and you then tend to 'see' more of them on the road. You're more in-tune to it. I agree with the comment above that cycling itself can elevate PSA, so more men then follow up- and that cycling can cause discomfort in the area that's checked.
My urologist doc instructed me to stop riding for a week or two way back at the beginning of this journey. Supposedly, there were no clinical studies involving groups of cyclists and PC. This was what I was told at the time. Apparently, some docs believe PSA rises and some don't with the activity. He took the pragmatic approach. Ultimately, I replaced the seat with one that took any stress away from my crotch. I was back on the road 3 1/2 weeks after the RP.
The PA I see in the MO's office encourages me to ride. And I am so glad he does.
yes, mine does too, I didn't make it clear, he had me stop for a bit with the idea that he would get a more accurate PSA reading. Exercise=I'm addicted to it and have been my entire life. Exercise, Diet, Sleep. If you're gonna beat cancer, these are the 3 things you must do, IMHO. It has worked for me. So far.
Clearly we can't say that cycling causes cancer, but did it play a roll? I can say without a doubt that cycling helps keep me healthy from the effects of the treatments which at times feel equal to the disease at attacking my body and health.
I am in the camp that the two are not related. I am regular cyclist now - ride 3000 to 5000 miles a year - many years (17) after getting diagnosed. Had recurrence four years after surgery and back then, cycling was not part of my life. My brother and two friends who have been treated do not cycle - don’t even own bikes. We get what we are going to get. Several of the guys I ride with always go north of 10,000 miles yearly and have not had prostrate cancer. I am newly retired and as I soon as I get ablation done next month, I will start on a path to cross 8000 miles in 2025 - assuming the procedure is successful.
I've been cycling actively (racing masters, too) since 2009. After PCa discovery early 2021 I also had AFib diagnosed and had two ablations (Sep. 2021 and Oct. 2022) to treat it. So far so good. I used to ride 10k miles/year but now down to 7k/year. since Oct. 2023 I added a lot of resistance training (heavy lifting using variable resistance).
Definitely my active lifestyle helped to overcome most side effects of ADT.
Ablation twice - Ouch. You all who can hit the 10K milestone are awesome riders.
I have SVT which is one of AFIB's cousins. Finding it challenging to breath during cardio because my heart rate quickly escalates to north of 200 and gets stuck for extended periods - hit a high of 260 in November and stayed above 200 for over two hour during that episode. If ablation does not work for me, I am likely a retired cyclist. Working out with weights and walking is also triggering so hardware (ICD) may be in my future. Beyond frustrating.
Cyclists are less likely to also do resistance exercise.
That's a broad brush. We may not like resistance training, but force ourselves to hit the gym regularly because cardio alone will not get it done. Admittedly a few our clubs riders will not touch weights, but they are exceptions rather than the norm.
Well I am an avid cyclist and at age 49 developed prostatitis which led to PC -Gleason 3+4 and had robotic surgery ( margins clear) but 17 years later now have Stage 4. Never used the prostate seat until I developed prostatitis. I believe the cycling led to infection which led to PC-just saying in my case.
We've only known one avid cycler who died within such a short time of diagnosis. Did he just give up? Because others we have known have lived on and on and didn't cycle much at all.
My husband swears by broccoli and other veggies, by the way. He's still alive after a diagnosis in the year 2000! He is over 80.
He had surgery right away and as for me, I think it was the immediate surgery that helped most of all. The surgery has it's drawbacks, though, which of course all of you know.
Stay busy and pray - I know miracles can happen. Both of us have health problems so we don't dwell on them. I came close to death as a baby and all through my childhood. I didn't even think about it.
Think about goals 20 years out and be stubborn about your GOOD attitude. 
Long time cyclist here with a similar wonder. Have ridden fairly regularly for 50 years ranging from 1000 to 10,000 miles per year with 10 years of amateur racing in my 20's and 30's. Diagnosed 2.5 years ago. Prostatectomy 2 years ago. SOC since then. When 1st diagnosed, I found a British med journal paper that found a 3.5% increased risk of prostate cancer but the time in saddle had to be several hours per week. I will try and relocate it. One interesting thing. After I ride now, many times I get semi-wood and/or the urge even though I'm on ADT and Xtandi. I'm guessing the compression on the prostate bed nerves is the reason. Mentioned this to my urologist and I don't think he was convinced but said go with it 
I have not filled out my bio yet. But 72 and 1/2 yo male. Disease and med free until 70. Original PSA of 8.7. Gleason of 9 in 1 of 12 biopsy sites. 6 sites were clear. Local lymph node mets which were spot radiated. More lymph node mets since then. Just finished triplet to knock the beast out. PSA now at .12 from 5.7 and hopefully still dropping. Had been .04 after surgery and ADT but was increasing with short doubling times, hence the triplet. Now on doublet. Cut back on the time in saddle and now do mostly rowing.
Damn, I didn't even finish one season of racing (1986) and ended on neurosurgical care. We're the same age. In our club championship series, the same guy won all 5 races in my division, winning at will--either riding away from the field or in bunch sprints. It was George Hincapie; he'd just turned 13.
I had a cyclist friend that was killed by a truck.
Another avid cyclist here, for 45 years now. When I was diagnosed 6 years ago I took a fairly deep dive into the literature, and I found no high-quality research indicating a significant link. Of course (as they say) "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence", but given this is an often-raised issue, I feel fairly confident in saying that if there is a link, it is very unlikely to be a strong link.
I'll just comment about a parallel observation..
I'm a member of a motorcycle club where a good number of the members are what would be considered "long distance" motorcyclists... often covering 10,000 miles or more a year of seat time.... among the ones who are 60 years of age and older - about 12 of us - 10 of us have experienced PCa - and one member died from it. To me that is a fairly astounding number.
I personally had travelled something over 200,000 miles on 2 wheels over about 30 years. Some years not a lot of miles, some years over 20,000 miles (my son who lives in LA had a wiring issue he needed help with - my wife said "why don't you go help.." So I got on my bike and went - NJ to CA and back. Had so much fun I did it again 2 years later..)
Is there a link? I suspect there is. There is an organization called "The Iron Butt Association" - I have friends, quite a few, who are members. It's for dedicated long distance motorcyclists, I thought of seeing if they'd be willing to be surveyed - but since the results could possibly speak against the activity they promote I doubt if they'd be interested.
Similar thinking here..
Me? Cycle? I don't know if it matters to Prostate Cancer, but I have that cancer in spades! Here's my adult experiences (as my kid experiences too numerous to mention here!)
BMX: (yeah, with the kids until 1992, in Azusa, CA! Whew! Glad that's over as not too many ol' folks doing BMX so I was mostly competing with 20 & 30-year-olds! WHEW!! Talk about spinning!)
MOUNTAIN: (yup! I never counted the miles, only the cadence. At 42 years old, came in 7th at a mountain bike race for charity up near Big Bear Lake, CA: 6,000' elevation! Surprised myself! But no way I could even come close to the pro kids! Whew were they fast! Even in the thin air!)
Road (yup! That too. Longest ride = 56 miles from Azusa to past Seal Beach at the Pacific Ocean, in just under 3 Hours! Not bad for an old guy in his 40's! Fasted long ride = held 19mph for over 2 hours! Wonder what I could have done as a young lad? Had a French racer in college back in 1960's! Sadly, I had to sell it leaving college for gas money.
Now? All those bicycles are hanging in my garage gathering dust!
And, in closing I would just like to say, I do not, in general eat cooked Broccoli, let alone 24 of them! LOL!
Godspeed in your journey!
I was a hard core cyclist for most of my life.
Almost got into racing… decided against it.
Continued cycling, centuries and 40mi jaunts.
Workout was 20mi every morning before breakfast.
IDK
I’m a cyclist of over 40 years, I often wonder if this has something to do with it.
Let me tell you a story about a man named?....so I'm riding in a car with 3 other long distant runners over 2,000 miles a year and one guy says Dude you're the odd guy out...I say what do you mean? He says us 3 guys have had Prostate cancer which prompted me to get a PSA test. 7.9 in 2018..then came back in 2021. Anyway I started running when I turned 50...that was 71 marathons ago + 5 Ironmans and some ultras...still running marathons. If it wasn't for that car ride I would have never checked my PSA. I now feel like all the biking and running I did could have irritated that AREA and caused my cancer....just my thoughts.
Yeah u nodding, 🤣 of that's a concern get a better saddle my bro. That route of exercise has only benefits, unless you count the vast you didn't see😆. Ride and njoi.
What is the rate of PC in the Netherlands, they ALL ride bikes more than drive and walk??
Interesting, and Ive often wondered myself. I was a competitive cyclist for like 10 years. My PC was life threatening there for a while, now somewhat stabilized.
I did have a buddy I rode with for years who also got PC. He was very strict with his diet, unlike me, he never touched a drop of alcohol or smoked even once his entire life. He was the picture of health.
So maybe you're correct about cycling. All that pressure on the prostate??
We gone get we get. I too never touched a cigarette or smoked anything, never drank an ounce of alcohol - beer or hard liquor and have always exercised, yet I have had prostate cancer twice, heart surgery at 14 to repair a hole that I was allegedly born with and facing another heart procedure next month. I have given up on why me and just roll with the punches. Cancer has decimated my family -- mother, father and younger sister died young - all less than 57 and the three of us still standing have all been treated. Genes play a big role in this and we can't run from that. Ride those bikes, run those miles and if you want to smoke, drink and do whatever, to each his own because some things in life we will never get answers to.
I don’t know if there is a cause and effect with cycling. Long-haul cycling does drive up PSA a few points. I have biked 50,000 miles in the past 40 years. It could be a coincidence.
Right now, riding singletrack gives me the greatest joy of the day.
I would think that if there was a cancer that was caused by bicycling it would be testicular cancer, and the only bicyclist I have heard of with testicular cancer was Lance Armstrong. I also, however, have been cycling for many years. 🦊
I purposely rode a girl's bike all my life but the beast still got me... (but I beat getting pregnant).
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n
I am not, nor have I ever been, a cyclist.
I wonder as well, I know 4 other guys who had prostate cancer and they are all cyclists like myself.
The Japanese ride bikes - all ages, including ancient women. They also keep statistics.
They just seem to take gentle bike rides to the grocery store. But maybe there are males who ride much more.
If many of you are bikers, maybe you all need to stop biking SO MUCH and do other things that are gentle to the body.
Just a wife's perspective.
My bike has a motor.
Wow, you are only 51. Sorry to read your info- you wrote this:
"A friend with a difficult to treat cancer eventually refused chemo/radio/surgery. Instead went on a vegan diet, and took various supplements, homeopathic and otherwise. I thought he was ill-advised to take that route... Within two years his cancer was gone. That's 12 years ago now, and he's still fit and well. "
Can you share perhaps on another thread or the other forum what his alternative protocol consisted of?
I have spoken to someone locally that went alternative and the tumor disappeared after his homepathic route and alternative treatment including Graviola leave tea.
I have chosen to go similar to your friend refusing the SOC, went a year ago as vegan and supplements many your bio listed, exercising daily, etc. I have no symptoms, and will continue on as long as I am healthy doing what I am doing.
I have spent most of my life sitting down, staring at a computer 12-16 hour days when I worked, and only exercising twice a week back in 90's. Not good for leg muscles either, when started to exercise after years- my calves were unstretched and got plantar fascistis- but now after got rid of it with small amounts and duration of Celebrex and exercising all the time- it's gone. Until my tumor discovery, I was very much sitting around especially during 2 years of Covid when my PSA climbed up. In all my reading, being sedentary with inactivity and sitting around is in fact attributed to bad outcomes with various cancers. So now I exercise daily- its great for mental health as well. Sitting around in a chair might be similar as you are putting pressure down there not as much as a bike force on the uncomfortable seat versus chair. My 2 cents FWIW. I also had a bad western diet most of my life, eating out often, lots of eggs daily, dairy, red meat, no vegetables at all really, etc. Changed it all up a year ago.
There is a British study from 2014 associating biking and PCa. I’ve wondered the same about runners.
Bikes,riding them, building them, enjoying them have been a backdrop of my life and great source of freedom... It Was very upsetting selling my bikes!!!
But now I've made cool ebike with saddle and padding equal to sitting on monkeys cloud, with SR suspension seatpost, more comfortable than service station massage chair.
My first bike i made had no tyres, a little wheel on back of big on front, trying to stay on it was the gift..... (Maybe all that rattling around jangle the cancer up.........)
PS My friends husband has just finished radiotherapy of prostate.....keen cyclist he even wears lycra.
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