The Impact of Exercise on Cancer Mortality, Recurrence, and Treatment-Related Adverse Effects

Abstract

The combination of an increasing number of new cancer cases and improving survival rates has led to a large and rapidly growing population with unique health-care requirements. Exercise has been proposed as a strategy to help address the issues faced by cancer patients. Supported by a growing body of research, major health organizations commonly identify the importance of incorporating exercise in cancer care and advise patients to be physically active. This systematic review comprehensively summarizes the available epidemiologic and randomized controlled trial evidence investigating the role of exercise in the management of cancer. Literature searches focused on determining the potential impact of exercise on 1) cancer mortality and recurrence and 2) adverse effects of cancer and its treatment. A total of 100 studies were reviewed involving thousands of individual patients whose exercise behavior was assessed following the diagnosis of any type of cancer. Compared with patients who performed no/less exercise, patients who exercised following a diagnosis of cancer were observed to have a lower relative risk of cancer mortality and recurrence and experienced fewer/less severe adverse effects. The findings of this review support the view that exercise is an important adjunct therapy in the management of cancer. Implications on cancer care policy and practice are discussed.

Physical Activity and Exercise in Lung Cancer Care: Will Promises Be Fulfilled?

“…Nevertheless, starting in the late 1980s , new data progressively emerged, supporting the notion that physical activity (PA; defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure) and exercise (EX; including only those planned, structured, and repetitive activities aimed at improving or maintaining one or more components of physical fitness) may provide relevant benefits in oncology. In cancer survivors, an inverse correlation between PA and mortality or recurrence rate was reported . Moreover, EX can play a beneficial role during and after oncological treatments, leading to clinically meaningful improvements in physical fitness (aerobic, strength, flexibility, and body composition) , quality of life (QoL) , treatment‐related side effects , and psychological outcomes (such as anxiety, depression, self‐esteem, and energy level and vitality) .…”

Proceedings of the 5th annual symposium of the German Society for Paleo Nutrition held in 2017

“…Increased levels of physical activity (PA) reduce the risk for various types of cancer in a dose-depended manner [23]. Moreover, elevated PA and targeted therapeutic exercise programs are associated with a decreased progress and mortality, a reduction of frequently observed side effects (e.g.…”

“…Moreover, elevated PA and targeted therapeutic exercise programs are associated with a decreased progress and mortality, a reduction of frequently observed side effects (e.g. fatigue, incontinence, lymphedema, cognitive impairments) and an increase in quality of life in cancer patients [23]. However, recommended PA levels are met by less than one third of this growing population -especially during medical treatment.…”

Sport activities and exercise as part of routine cancer care in children and adolescents

“…A question of considerable interest is whether the benefits of exercise extend to cancer‐specific outcomes. Epidemiological evidence shows that being physically active can provide a protective effect against cancer recurrence, cancer‐specific mortality, and all‐cause mortality for some types of cancer in adults . Exercise has antitumor activity in mouse models, both as a single modality and in combination with conventional antitumor therapy, yet the underlying biologic or biobehavioral mechanisms remain to be elucidated .…”