Physical Activity Associated With Lower Risk of Mortality in Men With History of Colon Cancer

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214162322.htm

ScienceDaily (Dec. 26, 2009) — Increased physical activity appears to be associated with a lower risk of cancer-specific and overall death in men with a history of colorectal cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body, according to a report in the December 14/28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Each physical activity was assigned a metabolic equivalent task (MET) score. Activities that required more energy were assigned higher MET scores.

There were 258 deaths in the group of study participants, of which 88 were due to colon cancer. "Men who were physically active after diagnosis of nonmetastatic colorectal cancer experienced a significantly decreased risk of colorectal cancer-specific death, as well as death from any cause," the authors write. "Men who engaged in more than 27 MET hours per week had more than 50 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer-specific mortality compared with inactive men. This association was consistently detected regardless of age, disease stage, body mass index, diagnosis year, tumor location and prediagnosis physical activity."

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