Major study proves exercise improves cancer survival
An exercise programme for colon cancer patients can cut the risk of dying by a third, a major international trial shows.The researchers said it was "not a large amount" of exercise and any type of workout from swimming to salsa classes counted.The results could change the way colon cancer is treated around the world.Scientists are already investigating whether similar exercise regimes could improve survival for people with other diseases, such as breast cancer.
"It's a bit of a mind-shift, thinking of treatment as something you do, not just something you take," says researcher Prof Vicky Coyle from Queen's University Belfast.In the trial, the three-year exercise programme started soon after chemotherapy.The aim was to get people doing at least double the amount of exercise set out in the guidelines for the general population.That could be three-to-four sessions of brisk walking a week, lasting 45-60 minutes, Prof Coyle says.People got weekly face-to-face coaching sessions for the first six months, which then dropped to once a month.The trial, involving 889 patients, put half on the exercise programme. The other half were given leaflets promoting a healthy lifestyle.The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed after five years:80% of people exercising remained cancer-freecompared with 74% in the other groupmeaning a 28% reduction in the risk of the cancer coming back, or a new one formingMeanwhile, eight years after the initial cancer treatment:10% of people on the exercise programme diedcompared with 17% in the group given only health advicemarking a 37% lower risk of deathExactly why exercise has this beneficial effect is unknown, but ideas include the impact on growth hormones, inflammation levels in the body and how the immune system functions - which patrols the body for cancer.Dr Joe Henson, from the University of Leicester, said the results were "exciting".He added: "I saw first-hand that this reduced fatigue, lifted people's mood and boosted their physical strength."We know that physical activity regulates several key biological processes that could explain these results, and further research will help us uncover why exercise is having such a positive impact."Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with around 31,800 people diagnosed each year.Caroline Geraghty, from Cancer Research UK, said: "This trial has the potential to transform clinical practice, but only if health services have the necessary funding and staff to make it a reality for patients."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Brighton GP surgery under threat from private company, says campaigner
Campaigners are holding a tug-of-war to highlight what they say is the threat to a community-run, non-profit GP surgery in Brighton from a private Whitehawk surgery is currently run by the Wellsbourne Healthcare Community Interest Company, but it could be handed over to Leeds-based One Medical Group after NHS Sussex started procuring for a new contract. NHS Sussex said it could not comment on the procurement process as it was still under way. Janet Sang, part of Sussex Defend NHS, said the campaign group was "extremely concerned" that an "effective and well-loved GP service" could be transferred to a profit-making entity. "We believe this is... not in the best interests of the people of Whitehawk," she added. One Medical Group, which said it had more than two decades of experience in "delivering high-quality primary care services across the UK", said it could not comment as the procurement process was ongoing. It added it had "consistently delivered [NHS services] to the highest standard across diverse demographics". "We pride ourselves on.... our collaborative approach with local communities, ensuring that healthcare is both reflective and responsive to local needs," it continued. 'Fantastic job' NHS Sussex said it needed to procure a new contract for running the doctor's surgery, which serves around 8,300 people, as the current one has expired. It said the new contract had been designed to meet the needs of the local population in what it called one of the most deprived areas in Sussex. Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC took over the GP surgery several years ago after the previous private provider walked away, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Anger over uncertain future of GP surgery Brighton & Hove City Councillor David McGregor, who said he planned to attend the tug-of-war event, said the Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC had done a "fantastic job" and NHS Sussex should "reconsider".Chris Ward, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, has started a petition - titled Save Wellsbourne Healthcare - that has more than 3,000 signatures as of 5 June. Sarah Webb, business manager at Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC, previously urged NHS Sussex to talk to the people of Whitehawk."Listen to residents," she told BBC Radio Sussex in May.
BBC News
40 minutes ago
- BBC News
King's Mill Hospital A&E wait times cut by 'Dragon's Den' idea
Waiting times in accident and emergency at Sutton-in-Ashfield's King's Mill Hospital have been reduced by moving some less seriously ill people to chairs instead of Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's executive board met on Thursday to discuss the effectiveness of a plan called Fit2Sit, which was introduced in January to tackle overcrowding and improve the flow of involves medics identifying which patients need assessment but do not need to be lying down on a trolley while they wait, with a separate room set aside to hold 19 Rose, lead nurse at King's Mill's A&E, said the staff-suggested idea had "dramatically reduced" overcrowding. The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the meeting was told the waiting time for non-admitted patients to be seen in A&E had dropped by about 40 minutes since the change – down from 196 minutes to 150 minutes. Meanwhile the average number of patients within the department's majors area, where patients need more intensive treatment, has dropped from 61 to 35.A total of 89% of patients are now offloaded by ambulance crews within 30 minutes of arrival, compared to 80% in December 2024. 'Suggested by staff' Richard Kemp, divisional director of nursing for urgent and emergency care at the trust, told the board: "We can keep our clinicians in consulting rooms [and] keep patients due an assessment in a private area."If necessary with ongoing investigation, a patient can return to the waiting room while that happens, whereas all of those patients would have been in the majors space previously, contributing to the crowding in that area."About £12,600 was spent on Fit2Sit from money raised by the trust's Daffodil Volunteers fund, including £5,000 awarded from a "Dragon's Den" initiative, which involves hospital staff pitching their own ideas to managers about how to solve chairman Graham Ward said: "The biggest positive is this came from our staff, their idea, their approach to how we can improve our patient experience."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Cosmic discovery could shed light on black holes in distant galaxies
Scientists have discovered extreme nuclear transients (ENTs), the most powerful energy blasts in the universe, occurring when stars are torn apart by supermassive black holes. ENTs can emit 100 times more energy in a year than the Sun does over its 10-billion-year lifetime. Astronomer Jason Hinkle identified the first two ENTs in data from the European Space Agency 's Gaia telescope. Researchers believe ENTs can be used to study massive black holes in distant galaxies, providing insights into black hole growth when the universe was half its current age. ENTs are rare, occurring much less frequently than supernovae, but upcoming observatories like the Vera C Rubin Observatory and Nasa 's Roman Space Telescope may help discover more of them.
