Exercise can counter the detrimental effects of cancer and its treatment, according to an umbrella review published recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The research – Impact of exercise on health outcomes in people with cancer: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials – was led by a team at Shengjing hospital of China Medical University (SJH), and is the most extensive study of its kind to date.

The work was undertaken to investigate the associations between exercise and overall health outcomes in patients with cancer, with the aim of providing robust evidence to support the safe clinical application of exercise in cancer care.

Eighty studies with 485 associations were reviewed by the team with these having originally been peer reviewed and published between 2012 and 2024.

Mitigating the adverse effects of cancer
Researchers concluded that exercise significantly mitigates adverse events associated with cancer and its treatment, for example brain fog, chemotherapy-induced nerve damage and dyspnea (a sensation of running out of air).

Exercise also modulates body composition and biomarkers, including insulin, as well as enhancing sleep quality, psychological wellbeing, physiological functioning, social interaction and improving quality of life.

Mind-body exercises, such as Tai Chi, Qigong and yoga were recommended by the research team for their ability to integrate mental focus, physical movement, breath control and stress reduction. Yoga improved the short-term, health-related quality of life for people with breast cancer, lung cancer and older people with colorectal cancer, while there was moderate certainty evidence that post-diagnosis and post-radiotherapy exercise, combined with yoga or spiritual growth was linked to decreased depression among women with breast cancer.

Older people also benefit
High certainty evidence from one analysis demonstrated that exercise also enhanced the psychological wellbeing of elderly people with colorectal cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy.

In addition, there was evidence of high to moderate certainty that pre-operative exercise reduced the risk of post-operative complications and pain, as well as the length of hospital stay and the risk of death after surgery.

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