Exercising regularly in the three years after treatment for a common cancer could significantly improve survival rates, an international study has revealed.
In the research, a total of 889 colon cancer patients who had undergone surgery and had also received chemotherapy were divided into two groups.
One group was enrolled in a structured group exercise program for a three-year period and a second group received educational health materials, according to a study press release.
Led by coaches, the exercise group was permitted to choose their own type of moderate-intensity exercise, such as walking or pickleball. The overall goal was to add 2 ½ hours of activity per week.
At the eight-year mark, the participants in the exercise group were 28% less likely to have a recurrence of colon cancer or emergence of new cancers, and had a 37% higher overall survival rate.
“Our findings show that exercise is no longer just a quality-of-life intervention for cancer patients that can be offered when and where possible,” said study co-chair Dr. Kerry Courneya, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Alberta and Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Cancer, in the release.
“It is a treatment for colon cancer that must be made available to all patients.”
One of the patients in the study, Terri Swain-Collins, was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2021.
After she underwent surgery and chemo, she was enrolled in the clinical trial and was assigned to the exercise group. Swain-Collins worked closely with a physiotherapist to create a fitness regimen that worked for her.
“One of the biggest benefits was having a semi-structured routine that works for my lifestyle with someone to hold me accountable,” she said in the release.
“Simply being told to exercise by a physician wouldn’t have been enough to get me to where I am today; having someone walk alongside me, guide me and check in regularly was what truly made it possible.”
Three years later, Swain-Collins is still walking regularly and is cancer-free.
This was the first study to directly examine the impact of structured exercise on cancer survival, according to the researchers.
“The next step is to put this into practice,” said study co-chair Dr. Chris Booth, medical oncologist at Kingston Health Sciences Centre and professor of oncology at Queen’s University, in the release.
“That means health systems will need to invest in behavior support programs as part of standard care.”
Implementing exercise as an anti-cancer tool could be “remarkably cost-effective compared to many new cancer drugs,” Booth noted.
The study did find, however, that patients in the exercise group were more likely to develop muscle strains or injuries (18.5%) than the non-exercisers (11.5%).
The findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine and were also presented at the ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) annual meeting in Chicago on Sunday.
The study was funded by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS).
Colorectal cancer is the third-most common cancer among men and women in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.
Among people under 50, rates of diagnosis have increased by 2.4% per year from 2012 to 2021.