Exercise: Preventive and Therapeutic Benefits in Cancer

Cancer is soon expected to overtake cardiovascular diseases as the leading cause of death in the world. As newer and often more expensive cancer treatments become available, several complementary modalities are gaining clinical importance. Exercise is one such modality. Increasing scientific data suggests that exercise, besides helping prevent several cancers, can also help improve outcomes across a range of cancer diagnoses. The mechanisms behind this protection and therapeutic effects are numerous and include changes in body composition, insulin sensitivity, oxidative stress, sex hormone levels, systemic inflammation, immune cell function, and DNA integrity. Exercise is easy to do, is inexpensive, and can be modified to the condition of the patient. This review summarizes the various benefits of structured activity in most major cancers affecting humans.