CANCER AND EXERCISE

Abstract

Physical inactivity has been associated with a wide range of cancer types, and while the mechanisms are not precisely known, interactions between exercise, obesity, immune and endocrine functions can either facilitate or suppress cancer development. Regular and vigorous physical exercise has been scientifically established as a strong preventive medicine against cancer, with the potential to reduce incidence by 40%. The effect is strongest for breast and colorectal cancers. Following cancer diagnosis, exercise prescription can have highly positive benefits for improving surgical outcomes, reducing symptom experience, managing side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, improving psychological health, maintaining physical function, and reducing fat gain and muscle and bone loss and increasing survival. As such, regular exercise should be encouraged in all populations, particularly in those at higher risk of cancer. Furthermore, exercise as a medicine must be incorporated in the routine clinical care of cancer patients to improve quality of life, as well as to reduce morbidity and mortality.