Can Exercise Help Colon Cancer Survivors Live as Long as Matched Individuals in the General Population?

February 24, 2025 · Baton Rouge, LA

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Study indicates that higher levels of physical activity may lessen and even eliminate survival disparities

Physical activity may help colon cancer survivors achieve long-term survival rates similar to those of people in the general population, according to a recent study published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Individuals with colon cancer face higher rates of premature mortality than people in the general population with matched characteristics such as age and sex. To assess whether exercise might reduce this disparity, investigators analyzed data from two posttreatment trials in patients with stage 3 colon cancer, with a total of 2,875 patients who self-reported physical activity after cancer surgery and chemotherapy. The researchers also examined data on a matched general population from the National Center for Health Statistics. For all participants, physical activity was based on metabolic equivalent (MET) hours per week. (Health guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, translating to approximately 8 MET-hours/week.)

In the analysis of data from the first trial (called CALGB 89803), for patients who were alive at three years after cancer treatment, those with <3.0 MET-hours/week had subsequent 3-year overall survival rates that were 17.1% lower than the matched general population, but those with ≥18.0 MET-hours/week had only 3.5% lower subsequent 3-year overall survival rates than the matched general population. In the second trial (CALGB 80702), among patients who were alive at three years, those with <3.0 and ≥18.0 MET-hours/week had subsequent 3-year overall survival rates that were 10.8% and 4.4% lower than the matched general population, respectively.

In pooled analyses of the two trials, among the 1,908 patients who were alive and did not have cancer recurrence by year three, those with <3.0 and ≥18.0 MET-hours/week had subsequent 3-year overall survival rates that were 3.1% lower and 2.9% higher than the matched general population, respectively. Therefore, cancer survivors who were tumor-free by year three and regularly exercised achieved even better subsequent survival rates than those seen in the matched general population.

“This new information can help patients with colon cancer understand how factors that they can control—their physical activity levels—can have a meaningful impact on their long-term prognosis,” said lead author Dr. Justin C. Brown, of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “Also, medical and public health personnel and policymakers are always seeking new ways to communicate the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Quantifying how physical activity may enable a patient with colon cancer to have a survival experience that approximates their friends and family without cancer could be a simple but powerful piece of information that can be leveraged to help everyone understand the health benefits of physical activity.”

Additional information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. A free abstract of this article will be available via the CANCER Newsroom upon online publication. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com

Full Citation:
“The Association of Physical Activity with Survival in Colon Cancer Versus a Matched General Population: Data from CALGB 89803 & 80702 (Alliance).” Justin C. Brown, Chao Ma, Qian Shi, Leonard Saltz, Anthony F. Shields, and Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt. CANCER; Published Online: February 24, 2025 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.35727).

About the Journal     
CANCER is a peer-reviewed publication of the American Cancer Society integrating scientific information from worldwide sources for all oncologic specialties. The objective of CANCER is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of information among oncologic disciplines concerned with the etiology, course, and treatment of human cancer. CANCER is published on behalf of the American Cancer Society by Wiley and can be accessed online.

About Wiley      
Wiley is a knowledge company and a global leader in research, publishing, and knowledge solutions. Dedicated to the creation and application of knowledge, Wiley serves the world’s researchers, learners, innovators, and leaders, helping them achieve their goals and solve the world's most important challenges. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential.  Visit us at Wiley.com.