Does Regular Vigorous Exercise Cut the Chance of Cancer Spread?

Can you run away from cancer? It sounds like a silly question, but new research suggests that regular, vigorous exercise helps protect people from cancer. In addition, metastatic spread is far less common among people who exercise hard, whether they run, swim, dance or bike. The most recent research was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, June 1. 2025.

The authors conclude:

“A 3-year structured exercise program initiated soon after adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer resulted in significantly longer disease-free survival and findings consistent with longer overall survival.”

Vigorous Exercise Vs. Cancer:

Observational studies have long suggested that physical activity could benefit cancer patients. Now an international group of scientists has completed a multi-site randomized trial confirming this effect. The 889 patients had undergone surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer. The investigators assigned 445 of them to regular exercise with coaching by a personal trainer for three years. They allotted 444 patients to health education as a control group.

How Effective Was Exercise Against Cancer?

Here is the nitty gritty from this study:

“At a median follow-up of 7.9 years, disease recurrence, new primary cancer, or death had occurred in 224 patients (93 in the exercise group and 131 in the health-education group), and 107 had died from any cause (41 in the exercise group and 66 in the health-education group. Disease-free survival was significantly longer in the exercise group than in the health-education group…”

“Results support longer overall survival in the exercise group than in the health-education group, with an annual incidence of death of 1.4% in the exercise group and 2.3% in the health-education group.”

After 8 years, 90% of those in the exercise group were still alive, vs. 83% of those in the control group. These results are even better than those for some anticancer drugs. They will likely shift patients’ and doctors’ perception of exercise from something that’s nice to do to something that could save your life.

But here’s the rub. Very few oncologists prescribe exercise to their cancer patients. Few insurance companies pay for regular, supervised exercise for cancer patients. Perhaps it is time for the American medical system to recognize that exercise can be a powerful tool in the fight against cancer and be willing to prescribe and pay for it the same way doctors prescribe expensive cancer treatments.

How Does Vigorous Exercise Affect Cancer?

Scientists have long acknowledged that regular exercise helps prevent cancer. They have not known exactly why, however. Past studies have confirmed that exercised lowers the risk of both prostate and breast cancer, for example.

Prostate Cancer Is Less Deadly Among Exercisers:

In a study of nearly 200 men who underwent prostate biopsies, those who walked at least three hours or more each week were less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer (Journal of Urology, Nov. 2009). Even the veterans diagnosed with a tumor were less likely to have high grade disease if they got regular vigorous exercise. At that time, the investigators speculated that exercise may lower testosterone levels, which could act like fertilizer for abnormal prostate cells.

That same year, a study of male health professionals provided a similar message. Vigorous exercise may be the most effective way men with prostate cancer can prolong their lives. Investigators at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed data from more than 2,500 men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer (Journal of Clinical Oncology, Feb. 20, 2011). Those who were most physically active significantly reduced their chance of dying during the study. Despite these promising findings, however, the investigators could not explain the mechanism.

Active Women Have a Lower Risk of Breast Cancer:

Middle-aged women might be less likely than men to engage in vigorous exercise. However, research on more than 3,000 women on Long Island demonstrated that exercisers are less likely to develop breast cancer after menopause (Cancer, online June 25, 2012). Regular exercise, between 10 and 19 hours a week, during childbearing years reduced the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer by one third. But even women who didn’t start exercising until menopause lowered their risk of breast cancer compared to their sedentary peers.

Recreational Activity and the Risk of Cancer:

A big meta-analysis looked at data from 12 different studies enrolling a total of 1.44 million adults (JAMA Internal Medicine, June 1, 2016). Some people reported high levels of physical activity during their leisure time. They were significantly less likely to have cancer than those who did very little vigorous activity. This association held for most types of cancer. Once again, however, the investigators were unable to explain exactly how exercise protects people.

Could Vigorous Exercise Alter Metabolism?

Recently, scientists have begun to consider the role of metabolism in the spread of cancer. Might vigorous exercise be reducing insulin resistance, which is a risk factor for certain cancers? A study of more than 90,000 Chinese adults that lasted 13 years found the highest risk for colorectal cancer among people with insulin resistance (BMC Cancer, Sep. 22, 2022).

Another recent study suggests that this link could be crucial. Among several types of data, the researchers collected 20 years of information on 2,734 people (Cancer Research, Nov. 15, 2022). Once they noted that physical activity reduced the chance of metastatic tumors by 72 percent, the scientists turned to mice for a closer look. Just as with humans, mice who ran a lot were much less likely to develop metastatic cancers.

To learn why, the investigators analyzed the organs to compare those of active mice to those of sedentary animals. High-intensity aerobic activity increased the number of glucose receptors in the tissues. Regular vigorous exercise helps convert organs into efficient utilizers of glucose, similar to muscle tissue. According to the scientists, these metabolic changes reprogram the tissue if the physical activity is maintained. In the discussion. they posit a “metabolic shield” against metastasis due to tissue competing more successfully for energy.

They conclude:

“Exercise protects against cancer progression and metastasis by inducing a high nutrient demand in internal organs, indicating that reducing nutrient availability to tumor cells represents a potential strategy to prevent metastasis.”

The Latest Research on Exercise Vs. Cancer is even more Compelling:

“In this phase 3 randomized trial, we examined the effects of exercise on cancer-related survival in patients with colon cancer who had completed adjuvant chemotherapy. Exercise significantly reduced the relative risk of disease recurrence, new primary cancer, or death by 28%. The disease-free survival curves began to separate at about 1 year and continued to separate over the 10-year follow-up, with an absolute between-group difference of 6.4 percentage points at 5 years. Moreover, exercise reduced the relative risk of death by 37%. The overall survival curves began to separate at about 4 years and continued to separate over the 10-year follow-up, with an absolute between-group difference of 7.1 percentage points at 8 years. The magnitude of benefit from exercise delivered after surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy was similar to that of many currently approved standard drug treatments.”

Final Words:

We can’t think of many more compelling reasons to put on your dancing shoes, or your running shoes, and get moving! We hope oncologists, cancer centers, insurance companies and families will pay close attention to the conclusions described above. Exercise must become a central component of cancer care. Organizations should embrace the latest research and begin implementing affordable programs for patients.

Please share this post with family and friends, especially those who have been diagnosed with cancer. We would also love to read your story in the comment section below.