An international study revealed that structured exercise programs can enhance survival rates and reduce the risk of cancer recurrence among colon cancer patients. The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), offers definitive evidence supporting the integration of exercise into standard cancer care.
The CHALLENGE trial, a randomized controlled study, tracked 889 patients diagnosed with high-risk stage II or stage III colon cancer across six countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Canada, and Israel. After completing surgery and chemotherapy, participants were randomly assigned to either a control group that received educational materials promoting physical activity and healthy nutrition, or to a treatment group that participated in a structured exercise program supervised by a physiotherapist or kinesiologist over three years.
According to the study, participants in the exercise program had a 37 percent lower risk of dying and a 28 percent lower risk of recurrent or new cancer compared to those in the control group. After five years, 80 percent of the people who participated in the training program were cancer-free, compared to 74 percent in the group that received only the information booklet. "After eight years, survival rates rose to 90.3 percent for the exercise group, compared to 83.2 percent in the general health education program," reported Discover Magazine.
Dr. Christopher Booth, the senior author of the paper and a professor of oncology at Queen's University in Canada, emphasized the findings. "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," he said.
Participants in the exercise group engaged in physical activities such as brisk walking, swimming, and cycling. The goal was to increase physical activity to the equivalent of 30-minute jogging sessions every other day. Initially, participants met with sports coaches every two weeks, and later once a month, to stay committed to their exercise programs.
"The findings of this research highlight the importance of encouraging patients to engage in physical activities during and after cancer treatment," stated Dr. Julie Gralow, ASCO's Chief Medical Officer.
The study underscores the potential for exercise to serve as a powerful adjunct therapy in cancer care. "For an intervention that is not a drug, exercise offers remarkable benefits for patients," remarked Charles Swanton. Researchers believe that the benefits of exercise may extend beyond colon cancer. Dr. Pamela Kunz from Yale University suggested that these findings could be extrapolated to other types of solid tumors.
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