By Admin at 5 Jul 2017, 13:56 PM

There are more than 1.3 million colon cancer survivors in the U.S. If you’re one of them or know someone who is, two new studies shed light on lifestyle changes that may lower your chances of cancer recurrence while extending survival.

The first, which was presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, revealed that leading a healthy lifestyle both during and after treatment lowered risk of death and cancer recurrence. Nearly 1,000 patients with stage III colon cancer took part in the study and were assigned a score ranging from 0 to 6 depending on how well they adhered to American Cancer Society (ACS) lifestyle guidelines for cancer survivors. Specifically:

• Maintaining a healthy body weight
• Engaging in regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes per week, including strength-training exercises at least two days per week)
• Eating a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables and fruits and low in red and processed meat

Those who received a score of 5-6 (meaning they followed all or almost all of the guidelines) had a 42 percent lower risk of death than those who received a score of 0-1, while also reducing risk of recurrence. When alcohol consumption was also factored in, those with the highest lifestyle score had a 51 percent lower chance of death and a 36 percent lower chance of cancer recurrence compared to those with the lowest score. Researchers concluded:

“Colon cancer patients with a healthy body weight who engaged in physical activity, ate a diet high in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits and low in red/processed meats, and drank moderate alcohol had longer DFS [disease-free survival] and OS [overall survival] than patients who did not engage in these behaviors."

The second study, also presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual meeting, revealed that eating nuts, in particular, was also beneficial for stage III colon cancer survivors. Following the completion of cancer treatment, those who ate 2 ounces or more of nuts per week had a 42 percent lower risk of cancer recurrence and a 57 percent lower risk of death than those who did not eat nuts.

Tree nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews and pecans, were particularly beneficial, with consumption leading to a 46 percent lower chance of recurrence and a 53 percent lower risk of death. No similar benefits were noted among those eating peanuts or peanut butter.

Study author Temidayo Fadelu, MD, clinical fellow in medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told The ASCO Post,

“Patients with advanced disease who benefit from chemotherapy frequently ask what else they can do to reduce their chances of recurrence or death, and our study is an important contribution to the idea that modifying diet and physical activity can be beneficial.”

Sources:
National Cancer Institute, Cancer Stat Facts: Colon and Rectum Cancer
The ASCO Post May 17, 2017
J Clin Oncol 35, 2017 (suppl; abstr 10006)
J Clin Oncol 35, 2017 (suppl; abstr 3517)
The ASCO Post May 17, 2017
The ASCO Post May 17, 2017

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