ReviewRadiology and oncology2021
Physical activity and cancer risk. Actual knowledge and possible biological mechanisms.
Review in Radiology and oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Exploring the gut-exercise link: A systematic review of gastrointestinal disorders in physical activity.World journal of gastroenterology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of exercise by type and duration on quality of life in patients with digestive system cancers: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Journal of sport and health science · 2023Pooled it
- Leisure-time physical activity and gastric cancer risk: A pooled study within the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- The Role of Diet, Alcohol, BMI, and Physical Activity in Cancer Mortality: Summary Findings of the EPIC Study.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of vitamin D3, omega-3 fatty acids and a simple home exercise program on change in physical activity among generally healthy and active older adults: The 3-year DO-HEALTH trial.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2025Trial
- Effect of a 1-year physical activity intervention on cardiovascular health in long-term childhood cancer survivors-a randomised controlled trial (SURfit).British journal of cancer · 2023Trial
- Physical activity is associated with improved survival in skin cancer patients: A meta-analysis.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2026Article
- Device-measured movement behaviours and cancer incidence in a population sample of UK adults: Dual 24-hour analyses of postural and intensity compositions.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Association Between Physical Activity and Mortality in Men with or at Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Preoperative resting heart rate and colorectal cancer mortality: a robust association, but causality remains unestablished.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2026Article
- Revitalizing Muscles: Harnessing Exercise to Modulate Inflammatory Cytokines and Conquer Sarcopenia in Aging.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Review
- Genetic risk factors modulate the association between physical activity and colorectal cancer.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Association Between Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior and Breast Cancer Risk Among Moroccan Women: A Multicenter Case-Control Study.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Physical activity as a molecular modulator to enhance immunotherapy and drug sensitivity in the endometrial cancer-comorbidity continuum.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Health Behaviors and Cancer Diagnosis Among Individuals with Pathogenic Variants Associated with Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer or Lynch Syndrome.Journal of personalized medicine · 2025Article
- Genetic risk factors modulate the association between physical activity and colorectal cancer.Research square · 2025Article
- Awareness and knowledge of colon cancer risk factors and preventive behaviors: A cross-sectional study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Health among Retired Great Britain's Olympic Athletes: A cross-sectional Study of Disease and Multimorbidity.Sports medicine - open · 2025Article
- The role of physical activity and epigenetic changes in colorectal cancer prevention.Cancer cell international · 2025Review
- Association between pace of biological aging and cancer and the modulating role of physical activity: a national cross-sectional study.Clinical epigenetics · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundScientific evidence has shown that an increase in regular physical activity is associated with a decrease in the development of many types of cancer. Potential mechanisms that link physical activity to reduced cancer risk include a decrease in systemic inflammation, hyperinsulinemia, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I), sex hormones, pro-inflammatory leptin and other obesity-related cytokines, and a significant increase in anti-inflammatory adiponectin levels. In addition, physical activity improves immune function and the composition and diversity of the gastrointestinal microbiota. Moderate physical activity is important for cancer protection, but the most significant changes in the inflammatory profile are conferred by physical activity performed at higher intensities. Thus, there is a need for further investigation into the type, intensity, and duration of physical activity for the prevention of some types of cancer and the development of effective recommendations.
conclusionsThere is a strong evidence that physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity protects against colon and breast cancer, and probably against cancer at all other sites.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.