Cancer Survivors Who Exercise Have Lower Risk of Dying From Any Cause
People with a history of cancer who met national exercise guidelines had a 25% lower risk of dying from any cause, including cancer, in the 16 years after being diagnosed compared to people who didn’t exercise, according to a study.
The research was published online on Aug. 31, 2023, by the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Read the abstract of “Pan-Cancer Analysis of Postdiagnosis Exercise and Mortality.”
About the study
Many studies have shown that being physically active every day can reduce your risk of breast cancer. If you’ve been diagnosed, exercise can reduce your risk of recurrence (the cancer coming back).
Exercise is so important that the American Cancer Society and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend that people who’ve been diagnosed with cancer build up to at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week.
Still, the studies looking at the effect of exercise on dying from any cause, including cancer, in cancer survivors have been small with short follow-up times.
The researchers did this study to offer more information on how exercise affects cancer survivors’ risk of all-cause mortality.
The study included 11,480 people:
40% were female
37% were diagnosed with prostate cancer
20% were diagnosed with breast cancer
7.6% were diagnosed with colon cancer
7.4% were diagnosed with hematologic cancer (lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma)
6.7% were diagnosed with melanoma (skin cancer)
4.7% were diagnosed with bladder cancer
3.4% were diagnosed with lung cancer
3.3% were diagnosed with endometrial cancer
2.1% were diagnosed with renal cancer
1.8% were diagnosed with head and neck cancer
1% were diagnosed with ovarian cancer
0.9% were diagnosed with thyroid cancer
4.1% were diagnosed with other types of cancer
The people filled out a questionnaire that asked about their exercise habits during the previous year, including:
the number of days a week they exercised at a strenuous level that made them sweat quite a bit or elevated their breathing and heart rates to a high level
the number of days a week they exercised at a moderate level that made them sweat lightly or mildly elevated their breathing and heart rates
The researchers then classified the people as exercises or non-exercisers:
Exercisers were considered to meet national exercise guidelines, meaning they exercised four or more days a week for 30 or more minutes a session at a moderate intensity level, or two or more days a week for 20 or more minutes a session at a strenuous intensity level.
Non-exercisers didn’t meet the national guidelines, including people that reported zero days of exercise per week.
Overall:
7,106 people were considered non-exercisers; they did about 19 minutes a week of moderate exercise and about 8 minutes a week of strenuous exercise
4,374 people were considered exercisers; they did about 100 minutes per week of moderate exercise and about 100 minutes per week of strenuous exercise
Half the people were followed for more than 16 years after they were diagnosed with cancer and the other half were followed for shorter periods of time.
During follow-up, 1,459 (33%) of the exercisers died and 3,206 (45%) of the non-exercisers died.
Overall survival time from diagnosis was:
about 19 years for exercisers
about 14 years for non-exercisers
The researchers’ analysis showed that exercisers had a 25% lower risk of dying from any cause during follow up compared to non-exercisers. This lower risk of dying from any cause for exercisers was seen five years after diagnosis and lasted for at least 20 years after diagnosis.
"Our findings show exercise is a holistic strategy that may complement contemporary management approaches to further reduce cancer mortality (in select sites) while simultaneously lowering risk of death from other competing causes, which combine to improve [all-cause mortality]," the researchers concluded.
What this means for you
Finding the motivation, energy, and time to exercise nearly every day can be tough. But as this and other studies show, exercise is one of the best ways to keep both your body and your mind healthy.
Starting slowly and then gradually increasing the time and intensity you exercise can help, especially if you’ve never exercised before. Walking for 15 to 20 minutes a day can be a good way to start. Slow bike riding or gentle stretching are also good options for beginners.
Walking or doing another type of exercise with a friend can give you the motivation you need to carve out some time to be active each day. Plus, you can socialize at the same time. It’s never too late to get moving. And once you start, keep at it!
For motivation, listen to The Breastcancer.org Podcast episode with Dr. Christina Dieli-Conwright discussing her research on exercise as medicine. Besides discussing all the benefits of exercise, she also offers some tips on how to get started with exercise and how to stay motivated.
— Last updated on November 15, 2023 at 6:56 PM