Long‑term association of physical activity with survival by primary cancer treatment in endometrial cancer: The Alberta Endometrial Cancer Cohort Study

Cancer research · Endometrial cancer

The associations between physical activity and survival may differ by primary treatment, with generally protective associations in the surgery alone group and harmful associations in the surgery plus adjuvant therapy group.

Women with endometrial cancer who underwent hysterectomy (n=527) in Alberta, Canada between 2002 and 2006 recalled their lifetime pre‑diagnosis physical activity shortly after diagnosis and their physical activity since diagnosis at 3.4 years follow‑up using the Lifetime Total Physical Activity Questionnaire. Vital status was obtained through record linkage, while recurrences and second primary cancers were abstracted from medical records. Cox proportional hazards models examined interactions between physical activity and primary treatment (surgery alone vs. surgery plus adjuvant therapy) for overall survival and disease‑free survival. Over 16.7 years, 128 deaths and 194 disease‑free survival events occurred. For disease‑free survival, meeting pre‑diagnosis physical activity guidelines was associated with lower events in the surgery‑alone group but higher events in the surgery plus adjuvant therapy group. Overall, increasing physical activity showed lower risks of overall survival and disease‑free survival events in the surgery‑alone group but higher risks in the surgery plus adjuvant therapy group.

This indicates that lifestyle interventions such as physical activity may need to be tailored to the treatment context in endometrial cancer survivors.

Evidence level: Korai humán adat. Kis vagy feltáró emberi adat.

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