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22 August 2008
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Exercise improves breast cancer survival
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MedWire News: Women with breast cancer can improve their chances of survival by engaging in regular physical activity, research shows.
Dr Melinda Irwin, from Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, USA and colleagues studied 933 patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1995 and 1998 and who were monitored for at least 6 years.
At the start of the study, all the participants were asked whether they engaged in any regular physical activities in the year prior to diagnosis and up to 2 years afterwards, and, if so, the type, duration and frequency of such activities.
Each activity was then defined as light, moderate or vigorous, based on average energy expenditure.
The most common activity among the participants was fast walking, followed by bicycling and then yoga.
The team found that women who engaged in any type of moderate or vigorous regular exercise in the year before diagnosis were, on average, 31% less likely to die during the monitoring period than their inactive counterparts.
Furthermore, women who participated in any form of regular moderate or vigorous physical activity in the 2 years after diagnosis were 64% less likely to die during the monitoring period than inactive patients.
The researchers also found that, compared with women who were inactive both before and after diagnosis, those who increased their physical activity levels after diagnosis had a 45% lower risk of dying, while women who decreased their physical activity levels had an increased risk of dying.
"Our results suggest that participating in any moderate intensity recreational physical activity, such as brisk walking, after a diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with a lower risk of death," Dr Irwin and team write.
They conclude: "Encouraging women to maintain or increase their physical activity after a diagnosis of breast cancer may be beneficial to their overall health."
The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
J Clin Oncol 2008; 26: 3958-3964
http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/24/3958
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