Newly published results of a 17-year-long study conclude that exercise improves outcomes for patients with moderate to severe colon cancer.
Adding just two and a half hours a week of moderate exercise, study results show, led to a 28 per cent lower chance of cancer recurrence after five years, and 37 per cent lower chance of death after eight years for patients with stage 3 or high-risk stage 2 colon cancer.
The international CO.21 CHALLENGE study was led by the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG), a cooperative oncology group that designs and administers cancer clinical trials.
Dr. Anthony Reiman (BSc'92) is a professor in the School of Integrated Health at UNB, professor of medicine at Dalhousie University and a medical oncologist at the Saint John Regional Hospital. Reiman is a CCTG member and was part of the team that conducted the research; 17 of his and his colleagues' patients were among the 889 participants at the 55 research sites involved in this study.
"This is the first study to rigorously demonstrate that structured exercise interventions for colon cancer survivors following surgery and chemotherapy can reduce their risk of recurrent cancer and increase their survival," he said.
As a practicing oncologist, Reiman spends his days treating cancer patients and wants to give them the best chance at a positive outcome. As a researcher, he's able to be a part of the work that happens outside the exam rooms and surgical suites of a hospital.
Reiman's medical research connection to UNB goes back nearly as long as the study. For 14 years, he was Canadian Cancer Society Research Chair at UNB; shortly after that appointment ended, he re-joined UNB as a professor in July 2024.
Reiman's position at the crossroads of research and practice is an important part of his ability to make positive change in our communities.
"My appointment at UNB provides me with a mandate and time to conduct cancer research, including participation in this study as the lead investigator for Saint John," he said.
"Being part of the oncology practice within the Horizon Health Network was crucial for providing the local resources that enabled our participation in the study, including our excellent clinical trials and cancer rehabilitation teams."
In this way, Reiman embodies the potential of researchers embedded in other professions, and of research partnerships generally. By combining academic research with professional practice, projects can be more directly impactful and can leverage different kinds of expertise and skills in carrying them out.
Reiman also points to the importance of larger-scale collaboration in medical research in studies like these: "This study took 55 cancer centres in multiple countries over 17 years to complete. This is not something that could be done by individual researchers or cancer centres. This is generally true for practice-changing clinical trials in cancer care."
Reiman hopes this study will spur new support for this type of therapeutic intervention within the health care system. Speaking about the Saint John Regional Hospital's Stay Strong cancer rehabilitation program, delivered in collaboration with the YMCA of Southwestern New Brunswick, he mentions that this program is funded largely through philanthropy, but thinks it merits direct support through health funding.
"Studies like this one provide evidence that we should make programs like Stay Strong a part of our health care system. Structured, properly resourced exercise interventions can provide similar benefits compared to chemotherapy, with fewer adverse effects and, I suspect, at a reasonable cost."
