Dhamnetiya D, Sharma A. Role of physical activity in cancer prevention: An update. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(8): 107765 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i8.107765]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Deepak Dhamnetiya, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, ABVIMS and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi 110001, Delhi, India. drdeepakdhamnetiya@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Primary Health Care
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Aug 24, 2025; 16(8): 107765 Published online Aug 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i8.107765
Role of physical activity in cancer prevention: An update
Deepak Dhamnetiya, Aishwarya Sharma
Deepak Dhamnetiya, Aishwarya Sharma, Department of Community Medicine, ABVIMS and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi 110001, Delhi, India
Author contributions: Dhamnetiya D conceptualized, designed and supervised the study; Dhamnetiya D and Sharma A prepared the manuscript, and performed literature search, compilation and editing; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Deepak Dhamnetiya, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, ABVIMS and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi 110001, Delhi, India. drdeepakdhamnetiya@gmail.com
Received: March 30, 2025 Revised: May 11, 2025 Accepted: July 16, 2025 Published online: August 24, 2025 Processing time: 144 Days and 23.6 Hours
Abstract
Cancer prevention via regular physical activity has been studied across the world. This minireview aimed to present the latest updates in research in the context of the role of physical activity in the cancer prevention. The various mechanisms at the molecular level were studied in depth. The essential processes at play involving hormonal balance, weight reduction, adiposity, inflammation, immunity, sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels and insulin resistance were critically analyzed here. The dose response of exercise with respect to cancer prevention was appraised. Strong evidence supports an inverse relationship between physical activity and cancer risk, particularly for breast, liver, lung and colorectal cancers. There is limited evidence for hematologic, head and neck, ovarian, pancreas, prostate, brain, thyroid and rectal cancer. Prehabilitation plays a key role in tertiary prevention of cancer and patient symptom alleviation. The role of physical activity was studied under the entire cancer continuum, from primary to tertiary prevention. The minireview highlights the need for interventional trials involving holistic methods combing modern and traditional medicine/therapies in cancer prevention.
Core Tip: Physical activity and cancer are inversely related. Prehabilitation involving of cancer patients is beneficial in improving their health-related quality of life and patient symptoms. There is a need for structured physical activity guidelines for cancer prevention focusing on the entire continuum of cancer. The current literature focusses only on improved patient outcomes and not oncologic outcomes like reduction in cancer incidence. There is a dearth in literature of the role of resistance and balance exercises in cancer prevention. Tailor made protocols involving integrative approach (Yoga, Tai chi) need to be established for different stages of various cancers.
