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Physical Activity May Reduce Endometrial Cancer Risk: Presented at AACR

By Charlene Laino

ORLANDO, FL -- March 31, 2004 -- Physical activity can reduce by up to 40% a woman's risk of endometrial cancer, suggested findings presented here on March 30^th at the American Association for Cancer Research 95^th Annual Meeting.

Charles E. Matthews, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, presented the findings. The population-based case-control study that involved in-person interviews with 832 women ages 30 years to 69 years with cancer of the endometrium who were identified through the Shanghai Cancer Registry. For controls, 846 age-matched women who did not have endometrial cancer were randomly selected from a group of Shanghai residents.

Physical activity -- intentional exercise, household chores, or walking or cycling for transportation -- was assessed for the adolescent period (ages 13 years to 19 years) and the 10 years before entering the study. Lifetime occupational activity was also assessed using self-reports and job codes.

After adjustment for age, income, education and endometrial-cancer risk factors, women who reported exercising only in adulthood had a 19% reduction in endometrial cancer risk compared to women who never exercised. Exercising only in adolescence was associated with a non-significant 15% reduction in risk.

Compared with women who never exercised, women who exercised both in adolescence and in adulthood had a 30% to 40% reduction in the risk of endometrial cancer, Dr. Matthews said during a press briefing.

Women who reported no exercise but who had more active lifestyles through household chores and/or daily walking reduced their risk by about 40% compared to women who never exercised. "A similar benefit was evident for women with less active lifestyles but who were regular exercisers," said Dr. Matthews.

Adjustment for body mass index (BMI) "made little difference in the results," Dr. Matthews said. However, endometrial-cancer risk increased for both active and inactive women with each level of BMI.

Calculations to estimate the amount of exercise that would confer benefit suggested that walking 60 minutes per day reduced risk by 30% to 40% compared to walking less than 30 minutes per day. Similarly, engaging in a household activity for at least 4 hours per day reduced risk, compared with 2 hours or less a day.

Particularly noteworthy is the broad range of activities that reduced risk, according to Dr. Matthews. "The study offers more evidence to support the public-health message that exercise confers substantial benefits."

This work was supported by the United States National Cancer Institute.


[Study Title: Physical Activity and Endometrial-Cancer Risk. Abstract 3712]

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