For cancer patients, maintaining physical fitness and muscle strength could be a powerful weapon in the fight against the deadly disease, according to a recent study.
The study, published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that cancer patients with high muscle strength and cardio fitness levels had up to 46 per cent reduced chance of dying from any type of cancer compared with those with low physical fitness levels.
This benefit held true even for patients with advanced-stage cancers and those battling lung or digestive cancers.
“Our findings highlight that muscle strength could potentially be used in clinical practice to determine mortality risk in cancer patients in advanced stages and, therefore, muscle strengthening activities could be employed to increase life expectancy,” the researchers stated in the study.
In 2022, 20 million people were diagnosed with cancer worldwide, and nearly 10 million died from their disease — trends that are projected to increase in the coming decades, the study’s researchers said.
In Canada, it is estimated there were 247,100 new cancer cases and 88,100 cancer deaths in 2024, with an average of 241 people dying from cancer each day, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
And, according to another study published in the latest issue of Cancers, data from recent years have demonstrated that rates of colorectal cancer among younger individuals have been increasing with alarming rates of mortality.
Advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment have successfully reduced overall mortality rates. However, side effects of cancer treatments — such as cardiotoxicity and muscle loss — along with comorbidities like cardiovascular diseases, increased body mass, and lack of physical activity, are believed to contribute to mortality in cancer patients, the study argues.
Physical fitness and muscle strength training have been shown to reduce the risk of developing various types of cancer, according to Kristin Campbell, a physical therapist and researcher with the Canadian Cancer Society based in British Columbia
“That’s fairly well established now. But this new study adds to this. We look at physical activity and how much those things are really important after your cancer diagnosis, not just to manage symptoms, but how it might really impact cancer outcomes,” she told Global News.
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Physical fitness is crucial, she explained, because it helps reduce inflammation, maintain a healthy body weight and muscle mass, lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes and improve systemic circulation.
To explore the potential benefits of fitness in people already diagnosed with cancer, the researchers analyzed 42 studies involving 47,000 patients (with an average age of 64) across all cancer types and stages, focusing on muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness.
The results showed that both muscular strength and cardio fitness had a significant reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality compared with those with low physical fitness levels.
People with high levels of muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness were 31 per cent to 46 per cent less likely to die from any cause compared to those with poor muscle strength and low cardiorespiratory fitness.
The risk decreased by an additional 11 per cent with each unit increase in muscular strength. Similarly, each unit increase in fitness level was linked to an 18 per cent lower risk of death from cancer.
The combined effect of strength and fitness was associated with an eight per cent to 46 per cent lower risk of death from any cause in patients with advanced cancer (stages three and four) and a 19 per cent to 41 per cent lower risk of death from any cause among those with lung or digestive cancers.
“Collectively, such findings emphasise the importance of examining muscle strength and [cardio] in clinical practice to determine the mortality risk in patients with cancer, especially those with advanced cancer,” the researchers stated.
“Furthermore, implementing tailored exercise prescriptions to enhance muscle strength and [cardio] in patients with cancer may help to reduce cancer-related mortality.”
The study compared the highest and lowest levels of physical activity, fitness and muscle strength.
Based on these findings, Campbell suggested that cancer patients could benefit by starting at their current level and gradually increasing physical activity to stimulate their system, potentially leading to greater strength over time.
So it could be as simple as taking walks outside or for muscle strength, things like using your body weight to stand from a chair, 10 times, a couple times a day. Those sorts of things really start to improve your strength as well as your fitness.”
Campbell emphasized the importance of gradually challenging the body by introducing slight increases in effort as it adapts, which helps improve fitness and muscle strength. She noted that the approach is highly individualized, depending on a person’s current level and what is needed to achieve progress.
“But I think the biggest takeaway message here is saying that now this is pretty strong evidence that physical activity and getting people moving, and the things that can improve muscle strength really do help, and so how do we start doing that for people in a way that’s safe and effective for them?” she said.
She acknowledged that a cancer diagnosis can be an overwhelming and challenging time, often leaving patients feeling unwell. However, she emphasized that even small steps toward physical activity can make a difference.
Online resources are also available for individuals with a cancer diagnosis to learn more about staying active. These include:
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