The role of physical exercise: "What proven research data exist regarding the role of regular physical exercise in the survival chances of cancer patients and in reducing side effects during and after treatment?"

Question

A testmozgás szerepe: „Milyen bizonyított kutatási adatok vannak a rendszeres testmozgás szerepéről a daganatos betegek túlélési esélyeiben és a mellékhatások csökkentésében a kezelés alatt és után?”

Accepted Answer

Research data unequivocally demonstrate that regular physical exercise improves survival outcomes in cancer patients and alleviates treatment-related side effects both during and after therapy. According to observational studies and meta-analyses, post-diagnosis physical activity significantly reduces all-cause and disease-specific mortality, for example in prostate cancer (at ≥7.5 MET-hours/week, the hazard ratio for all-cause mortality is HR: 0.69, and for prostate cancer-specific mortality HR: 0.77) and in gynecological cancers (all-cause mortality HR: 0.65 among endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancer survivors). General oncology and cohort data also confirm the increased mortality risk associated with physical inactivity, as well as the reduction in cancer-specific mortality (according to certain syntheses, in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer). Structured aerobic and resistance training performed during and after treatment effectively reduces cancer-related fatigue (CRF), diminishes anxiety and depression, and enhances muscle strength, cardiovascular fitness, body composition, and chemotherapy tolerability.

In the management of symptoms and side effects, multicentre studies and network meta-analyses highlight that a combination of aerobic and weight (resistance) training significantly alleviates nausea, sleep disturbances, neurotoxicity, and cardiovascular deconditioning, while preserving lean muscle mass even in metastatic settings or during systemic chemotherapy (for example, in the PREFERABLE-EFFECT trial within the advanced breast cancer subgroup; NCT04120298). Furthermore, prehabilitation programmes prior to surgery or chemotherapy reduce postoperative complications and promote faster functional recovery.

Post-diagnosis physical activity in relation to mortality among gynecological cancer survivors.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42400650
Post-diagnosis physical activity in relation to mortality among prostate cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42348026
Long-term habitual physical activity and risk of mortality and long-term care insurance certification in cancer survivors: a prospective cohort study in the LIFE study, Japan.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41698730
Joint Association of Physical Activity and Prognostic Nutritional Index on Survival in US Cancer Survivors: A Study Based on the NHANES Database.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42108547
The molecular mechanisms of exercise in cancer prevention and management.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41117626
Exercise effects on lean body mass, muscle strength and functional performance in patients with metastatic breast cancer: the randomized controlled PREFERABLE-EFFECT study.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41975453
The whole-course of supervised home-based multi-modal prehabilitation to improve clinical outcome in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to gastrectomy: a single-center randomized controlled trial.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41870736
Effects of Exercise in Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04120298

The role of physical exercise: "What proven research data exist regarding the role of regular physical exercise in the survival chances of cancer patients and in reducing side effects during and after treatment?"

References