An hour an a half of daily exercise could slash the risk of dying from colon cancer by more than a third, a pivotal trial has suggested.
Regular exercise has long been lauded as a crucial way to not only help stave off cancer, but also lower the chances of it spreading.
Now, groundbreaking research has shown patients with the disease saw their risk of death cut by 37 per cent by completing 10 hours of physical activity per week, on average, over the course of three years.
Anything from a brisk walk to high intensity interval training (HIIT) counted, meaning patients could also choose an activity that best fitted into their lifestyle.
Researchers, presenting the findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in Chicago today, said the study was ‘one of the strongest bits of evidence that exercise works’ to keep cancer at bay.
ASCO president and top cancer specialist Julie Gralow added that findings suggested exercise was ‘better than a drug because it doesn’t involve side effects’.
‘This study shows it’s not too late to start exercising even once diagnosed or if patients have started treatment.’
The research comes amid a rising ride of colon cancer striking people in their 20s, 30s and 40s—a phenomenon that has baffled doctors around the world.
Natasha Wood, now 40, who lives in London, was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2015 at the age of just 30. She had surgery, followed by six months of chemotherapy and has been in remission since 2016
Bowel cancer can cause you to have blood in your poo, a change in bowel habit, a lump inside your bowel which can cause an obstructions. Some people also suffer with weight loss a s a result of these symptoms
Over the last 30 years, young diagnoses of the disease have shot up by 80 per cent across the globe.
In the world-first trial, a group of international researchers tracked 889 people from six countries, including the UK, Australia and Canada, all of who had undergone surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer that had spread to nearby lymph nodes but not reached other organs or tissues.
Half were prescribed a structured exercise programme, with the other half given health education materials alongside standard follow-up care and surveillance.
Those on the exercise regime received in-person coaching sessions every week for the first six months and once a month for the following two and a half years.
After five years, scientists found 80 per cent of volunteers in the exercise group remained cancer-free, compared to 74 per cent in the control contingent.
They also discovered the risk of death was a third lower in the exercise group.
The benefits remained after eight years—patients who stuck to the exercise programme had a 37 per cent lower risk of death, the authors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Professor Vicky Coyle, UK lead researcher and clinical professor at Queen’s University Belfast, said: ‘We supported people to reach their weekly exercise target in a way that worked for them.
‘This could be a long, brisk walk every day, but some patients were also doing circuit classes, cycling, swimming, and many other activities.
‘Our study gives clear, encouraging evidence that physical activity can reduce the risk of cancer returning for some people with colon cancer.’
Dr Joe Henson, study co-author and associate professor in lifestyle medicine at the University of Leicester, added: ‘I saw first hand that the exercise reduced fatigue, lifted people’s mood, and boosted their physical strength.’
He added more research is needed to uncover the reasons behind the positive impact of exercise.
Previous research has suggested that exercise can trigger the release of chemicals in the blood that help the immune system hunt and destroy cancer cells.
Studies have also found that regular exercise reduces levels of inflammatory proteins in the body that are known to fuel the development of tumours.
Dame Deborah James, nicknamed the ‘bowel babe’ raised more than £11.3mn for Cancer Research and is credited for increasing awareness of the disease, which killed her in 2022 aged 40
Natasha Wood, now 40, who lives in London, was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2015 at the age of just 30.
She had surgery, followed by six months of chemotherapy and has been in remission since 2016.
Ms Wood, who completed half-marathons before her diagnosis, was told by doctors that her baseline fitness level would improve her outcomes.
She said: ‘The results of this trial corroborate my own personal experience whereby exercise has played a pivotal role both during treatment and in the years following.
‘Throughout my treatment I continued to run, swim, cycle and lift weights, habits I’ve retained in the decade since.
‘Exercise has been a cornerstone of my own healthy lifestyle and supported my physical and mental health in equal measure.’
The disease, the third most common cancer in the UK, is the same type that killed Dame Deborah James aged 40 in 2022.
Although the vast majority of diagnoses affect those aged over 50, rates in older age-groups has either declined or held stable while diagnoses in younger adults have soared over the last 30 years.
Doctors have suggested obesity, antibiotic over-use, mobile phone radiation and even invisible particles of plastic in drinking water are potential triggers.
However, a growing number of experts are also pointing to ultra-processed foods as a cause.
Around 32,000 cases of colon cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK and 142,000 in the US.
Symptoms include changes in bowel movements such as consistent and new diarrhoea or constipation, needing or feeling the need to poo more or less frequently and blood in the stool.
Stomach pain, a lump in the stomach, bloating, unexpected weight-loss and fatigue are among other common signs.