Physical Activity Linked to Better Survival for Specific Cancer Types

FRIDAY, May 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Engaging in leisure-time moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) is associated with better overall survival for participants with a history of various cancers, according to a study published online May 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Erika Rees-Punia, Ph.D., from the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, and colleagues examined relationships between postdiagnosis MVPA and all-cause mortality in participants with a history of 11 cancer types using data from six U.S.-based cohort studies.

The cohort included 90,844 cancer survivors, of whom 45,477 died during a follow-up of 10.9 years. The researchers found that engaging in recommended amounts of MVPA (7.5 to <15 metabolic equivalent hours per week) was related to better overall survival compared with no MVPA for participants with a history of one of 10 cancer types (hazard ratios, 0.44 for oral; 0.50 for endometrial; 0.51 for lung; 0.51 for rectal; 0.51 for respiratory; 0.53 for bladder; 0.53 for kidney; 0.60 for prostate; 0.61 for colon; and 0.67 for breast). When excluding participants who died within two years of follow-up, inverse associations remained similar for eight of the 10 cancers.

“This evidence for improved survival associated with physical activity behaviors postdiagnosis may be empowering for people living with and beyond cancer and may motivate health care providers, exercise professionals, and other clinicians to better equip themselves to promote physical activity to cancer patients as a routine standard of care,” the authors write.

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