09.03.2023
Previous studies have shown that physically active women have a lower risk of dying following being diagnosed with breast cancer. Scientists from the DKFZ and Harvard University have now shown that this positive effect already occurs with a moderate increase in physical activity.
Breast cancer patients who walked briskly for regarding three hours a week had significantly lower mortality rates than those who were sedentary. And regardless of how much exercise a woman did before she was diagnosed with breast cancer, even a moderate increase in physical activity following diagnosis reduced mortality by almost a third.
Research team evaluated data from over 13,000 breast cancer patients
Several international studies have already shown that physical activity can have a beneficial effect on the course of cancer, especially in the case of breast cancer and colon cancer. However, there is still a lack of precise data on how much and what type of activity is necessary to positively influence the course of the disease – and whether this applies equally to all those affected.
A research team led by Dr. Renée T. Fortner from the DKFZ and Dr. Heather Eliassen from Harvard University has now examined these relationships using the data from the Nurses’ Health Study that has been running since 1976.
The team identified the participants of the Nurses’ Health Study 13,371 people with invasive breast cancer. During the follow-up, which lasted up to 30 years, 9,308 of the patients provided information every two years regarding the duration and type of their sporting activities following the cancer diagnosis.
Moving more following a breast cancer diagnosis significantly prolongs life
The more active the women were following their diagnosis, the better their disease progressed: Even at an activity level that corresponded to regarding three hours of brisk walking per week, the overall mortality rate fell by regarding 27 percent.
“This shows the potential of even comparatively moderate physical activity. Women don’t have to run a marathon or exhaust themselves at the gym,” says Dr. fortner “They already benefit from training sessions that anyone can incorporate into their everyday life.”
The connection between activity and mortality was particularly pronounced in the case of the common “receptor-positive” breast cancer, whose cells react to the female sex hormones. This subspecies affects regarding three quarters of all patients in Germany.
Physical activity also has a particularly beneficial effect on breast cancer that was only diagnosed following the menopause. The researchers also compared the results with the participants’ body mass index and found that the beneficial effects of physical activity cannot be explained by body weight alone.
And another encouraging aspect was discovered by Fortner and Eliassen. They examined the influence of a change in activity level before and following diagnosis. The result: Even a rather small increase, such as an additional 1-3 hours of brisk walking per week, already reduced all-cause mortality by around 30% – regardless of the initial level of physical activity.
“Move yourself!” That is the advice of the study directors Dr. Fortner and Dr. Eliassen for women with breast cancer. “Hiking or cycling, dancing or strength training: Every woman can choose what suits her most and thus positively influence her own illness.”
Sources:
[1] DKFZ, from Koh, 02/15/2023
[2] Fortner RT, Brantley KD, Tworoger SS, Tamimi RM, Rosner B, Farvid MS, Holmes MD, Willett WC, Eliassen AH. Physical activity and breast cancer survival: Results from the Nurses’ Health Studies. JNCI Cancer Spectrum 2023. DOI: 10.1093/jncics/pkac085
