Exercise Carries Equal Weight as Medications in Averting Colon Cancer Recurrence
Colon cancer, one of the top three most common cancers globally, impacts 10% of all cancer cases. Recent research led by Canadian scientists provides tantalizing evidence that a structured exercise program boasts an edge over drug treatments in preventing colon cancer recurrence.
Published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), this study shows that a structured exercise program post-surgery and chemotherapy lowered patients' chance of cancer recurring by 28% compared to those given only health advice. Remarkably, structured exercise also reduced the risk of death from any cause by 37%.
These results have experts singing the praises of exercise as a potential game-changer in the fight against colon cancer.
David Sebag-Montefiore, a renowned clinical oncologist, commented that structured exercise offers the "benefits without the downside of the well-known side effects of our other treatments."
Exercise vs. Health Education
Researchers recruited 889 participants, mainly from Canada, Australia, with some volunteers from the US, UK, and France, for this study, which formed part of the Colon Health and Lifelong Exercise Change (CHALLENGE) trial. All enrolled had undergone surgery for stage 3 or high-risk stage 2 colon cancer, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, ranging in age from 19 to 84 years with a median age of 61.
Most participants exhibited overweight or obesity, and none exercised regularly before the trial. Researchers randomly assigned participants to either an exercise group or a health-education group.
The exercise group, composed of 445 patients, collaborated with a certified physical activity consultant for three years. They aimed to achieve the equivalent of 3-4 brisk walks per week. In contrast, the health-education group received general health-education materials to promote physical activity and healthy nutrition in addition to standard surveillance.
At a median follow-up of 7.9 years, researchers observed 93 recurrences, new primary cancers, or deaths in the exercise group and 131 in the health-education group. Overall, 107 died from any cause – 41 in the exercise group, 66 in the health-education group.
People in the exercise group maintained their weight but saw an improvement in physical functioning and a longer disease-free survival period, with an annual incidence of recurrence, new primary cancer, or death of 3.7%, compared to 5.4% in the health-education group. After five years, 80.3% of patients in the exercise group were disease-free, compared to 73.9% in the health-education group.
Exercise: The New Hope?
Some experts suggest that exercise could be "better than a drug" for preventing colon cancer recurrence due to its lack of side effects but clarify that this does not mean drug treatments should be abandoned in favor of exercise.
Julie Gralow, the Chief Medical Officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), explains, "Exercise's benefit in colon cancer patients is not restricted to specific mutations."
The long-term benefits and cost-effectiveness of these programs are further emphasized, as a supervised exercise program can be much cheaper than medication.
Support for Successful Exercise
Despite the proven benefits, many people face obstacles to engaging in regular exercise. Vicky Coyle, the U.K. lead researcher for the trial notes, "We need to work with policymakers and healthcare providers to embed exercise into treatment plans where appropriate." Moreover, research indicates that offering tailored support is essential in promoting exercise adherence.
However, incorporating exercise programs for every cancer patient may prove challenging, as clinical personnel may be limited, and some patients may not be willing to attend frequent appointments. Alternative methods to support patients in incorporating exercise into their lives need to be explored.
Experts stress the importance of recommending exercise as a routine part of cancer care, underscoring the transformative potential of this tool in the war against colon cancer.
- In the global realm of oncology, colorectal cancer is one of the top three most common cancers, accounting for 10% of all cancer cases.
- A structured exercise program, shown to be more effective than drug treatments in preventing colon cancer recurrence, has caught the attention of medical professionals.
- Results from a recent study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), indicate that a structured exercise program post-surgery and chemotherapy could reduce the risk of cancer recurrence by 28% and the risk of death from any cause by 37%.
- Experts in the field of medicine, such as David Sebag-Montefiore, a prominent clinical oncologist, praise the benefits of exercise as a potential game-changer in the fight against colorectal cancer due to its absence of the side effects common in other treatments.
- To examine the impact of regular exercise on colorectal cancer patients, researchers recruited participants for the Colon Health and Lifelong Exercise Change (CHALLENGE) trial, which found that patients in the exercise group had longer disease-free survival periods, fewer recurrences, new primary cancers, and deaths compared to the health-education group.
- As experts consider exercise as the new hope for preventing colon cancer recurrence, they stress the need for ongoing support to help patients sustain exercise as part of their overall health-and-wellness regimen and fitness-and-exercise routine in their battle against cancer and related medical-conditions.
