Regular Physical Activity May Prolong Life in Colon Cancer Survivors

Engaging in regular physical activity may help colon cancer survivors achieve survival rates similar to the general population, according to data from two postoperative treatment trials.

Among patients with stage III colon cancer in the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) 89803 and 80702 trials who self-reported physical activity after surgery and chemotherapy, a higher amount of metabolic equivalent (MET) hours per week was associated with an attenuation of the survival disparity versus the matched general population, reported Justin C. Brown, PhD, of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and colleagues in Cancer.

For patients who were alive at 3 years in CALGB 89803, those with <3 and ≥18 MET‐hours per week had subsequent 3‐year overall survival (OS) rates that were 17.1% and 3.5% lower than the matched general population, respectively. In CALGB 80702, these rates were 10.8% and 4.4% lower, respectively.

Of note, achieving a survival rate comparable to the general population “is conditional on remaining tumor recurrence-free,” Brown and team wrote.

In pooled analyses of patients who were alive and did not have tumor recurrence by year 3, those with <3 and ≥18 MET‐hours per week had subsequent 3‐year OS rates that were 3.1% lower and 2.9% higher than the matched general population, respectively.

“This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that the primary means by which physical activity attenuates the survival disparity between colon cancer patients and the [matched general population] may be through the prevention of tumor recurrence,” Brown and colleagues noted.

Guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, which translates to approximately 8 MET-hours per week. A previous retrospective analysis of the CALGB 89803 trial showed that colon cancer survival improved significantly in patients who followed lifestyle recommendations related to diet, physical activity, and alcohol intake.

The current study “contributes information about how physical activity can promote an overall survival experience after colon cancer that begins to approximate the overall survival experience of individuals of the same age, sex, and year but without cancer,” Brown and colleagues wrote. “The myriad health benefits achieved by physical activity make promoting physical activity a cornerstone to optimizing colon cancer survivorship.”

For this study, the researchers included 2,876 patients from the CALGB 89803 and 80702 trials who self-reported physical activity. Median age at diagnosis was 60.8, and 56% were men. Of these patients, 44% engaged in ≥3 to 17.9 MET‐hours per week, 29.2% engaged in <3 MET‐hours per week, and 26.8% engaged in ≥18 MET‐hours per week.

The matched general population was derived from the National Center for Health Statistics and matched on age, sex, and year.

Brown and colleagues acknowledged that the study had limitations, including its observational design. It was unclear whether any identified associations were causal, or if the ability to engage in physical activity was simply an indicator of better health, they noted.

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