Physical fitness and increasing muscle strength could reduce the mortality rate for cancer patients by between 31% to 46%, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found.

Around 20 million new cancer cases were reported in 2022, with 9.7 million cancer deaths reported worldwide during the same period, with experts expecting the trend to increase in the coming decades.

ECU PhD student Mr Francesco Bettariga noted that in healthy adults, physical fitness and muscle strength have been associated with a 21% reduction in all-cause mortality, as well as a 15% reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality, and a 27% reduction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality.

Mr Bettariga's research has found that both muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness had a significant impact on lowering the risk of all-cause and cancer-specific mortality in patients with any form of cancer and stage.

"Our research found that anyone can benefit from higher muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness to have reduced mortality. But when we did our sub-group analysis, we found especially positive findings for those patients living with lung cancer and digestive cancer," Mr Bettariga said.

"Increased muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness had also significant potential to extend the lives of people living with advanced stage of cancer."

Mr Bettariga said that while physical fitness was beneficial to everyone, increased muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness after a cancer diagnosis would still deliver results.

"In practical terms, if a person is diagnosed with cancer and only starts exercising to increase their muscle strength or cardiorespiratory fitness levels after that diagnosis, they will potentially extend their survival and reduce their mortality risk."

He noted that cardiorespiratory fitness could be particularly increased by aerobic exercises like brisk walking, running, swimming or cycling, while muscle strength could be enhanced by the adoption of resistance exercise programs, including the use of dumbbells, barbells and weight machines.

"The guidelines are that people should be exercising at least three to five days per week. They can do between 75 minutes and 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise a week or around 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise.

"Resistance exercise training can be done at least twice a week, and would need to incorporate at least two or three sets of each resistance exercise, consisting of around 8 to 15 repetitions each at moderate intensity at least."

Mr Bettariga said the results from his research underscored the importance of clinical practitioners assessing the physical fitness of cancer patients as part of the process of predicting survival.

"Moreover, from a practical perspective, implementing tailored exercise prescriptions to enhance muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness throughout the cancer continuum may contribute to reducing cancer-related mortality."

— Bettariga F, Galvao DA, Taaffe DR, Bishop C, Lopez P, Maestroni L, Quinto G, Crainich U, Verdini E, Bandini E, Natalucci V, Newton RU.