Fish, Exercise Help Thwart Colon Cancer's Return?
Healthy habits important even when you're sick, researcher says
By Dennis Thompson
TUESDAY, June 3, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Regular exercise and a diet that includes fish may help colon cancer patients improve their odds of avoiding a relapse, a new study suggests.
The likelihood that patients will suffer a return of colon cancer more than doubles if they eat fish less than twice a week, or if they get less than 60 minutes of moderate exercise a week, researchers reported Monday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.
Lead author Dr. Mohammed Shaik hopes these preliminary findings will motivate cancer patients to keep healthy habits even though they are sick.
"Once somebody is diagnosed with colon cancer, they may think there is nothing they can do to maintain a healthy lifestyle," said Shaik, a fellow at Michigan State University's Breslin Cancer Center. "We show they can help prevent a recurrence."
About 135,000 new cases of colorectal cancer occur every year in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. It's estimated that 50,000 Americans will die of colorectal cancer this year.
The multinational study involved 1,515 colon cancer patients from the United States, Poland, Vietnam and Western Europe, including 188 people who suffered a recurrence of their cancer following treatment.
Researchers surveyed the patients, asking about their diet, exercise habits, and whether they smoked or consumed alcohol. "We wanted to know what factors could affect their progression," Shaik said.
People who eat fish less than twice a week or exercise for less than an hour each week are about 2.5 times more likely to have a recurrence of their colon cancer, the researchers found.
No other dietary factors appeared to affect the risk of colon cancer recurrence, including intake of red meat or alcohol consumption. Smoking also did not affect a person's recurrence risk, the study authors noted.
The findings regarding fish and exercise are consistent with earlier studies that investigated what might increase someone's risk of developing colon cancer in the first place, Shaik said.
However, until the results are published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, they should be considered preliminary. And the association between colon cancer risk, and fish consumption and exercise seen in the study does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.