Exercise extends life for people with cancer: Study

Involving patients in a structured exercise programme with ongoing support and accountability was key, say researchers

- Nina Agrawal

A first-of-its-kind study adds powerful new evidence to research showing that exercise improves cancer survival.

The study, a randomized controlled trial of nearly 900 patients at 55 cancer centers in six countries, showed that people who participated in a structured exercise program lived longer without their cancer coming back and without the occurrence of new cancers.

Participants in the exercise program had a 37 percent lower risk of dying and a 28 percent lower risk of recurrent or new cancer than those in the control group.

Earlier research had suggested such a benefit, but the data was from observational studies that did not prove a causal link, experts said.

"We now have definitive evidence that exercise is not just an intervention for quality of life and fitness. This is an intervention that improves survival and should be standard of care," said Dr. Christopher Booth, the senior author of the paper and a professor of oncology at Queen's University in Canada.

The study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine recently, looked at patients with Stage III or high-risk Stage II colon cancer, who received standard surgery and chemotherapy treatment.

Researchers randomly assigned these patients to a control group, which received educational materials promoting physical activity and healthy nutrition, or to a treatment group, which also received support from a "physical activity consultant"—a hybrid of personal trainer and life coach—over three years to increase their aerobic exercise and sustain it.