Lifetime exercise may cut breast cancer death risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who participate in recreational exercise and sports over their lifetime may be lowering their risk of death from breast cancerand breast cancer recurrence.

Among 1,231 women with breast cancer who were followed for a minimum of 8.3 years, those who obtained about 4 hours or more of weekly moderate-intensity recreational activity over their lifetime had a 44 percent lower risk of death from breast cancer, report Dr. Christine Friedenreich and colleagues.

Risk for recurrence, progression, or new primary breast cancer was likewise reduced by 34 percent among women reporting similar levels of recreational physical activity, note Friendenreich, of Alberta Health Services-Alberta Cancer Board in Calgary, Canada, and colleagues.

These findings suggest "being physically active before a breast cancer diagnosis can improve survival after breast cancer," Friendenreich told Reuters Health.

However, occupational activity and physical household work such as gardening, housework, and do-it-yourself home repair did not confer benefits similar to those from lifetime exercise and sports activities, the investigators report in the International Journal of Cancer.

Friendenreich's team compared the lifetime physical activity reports of 1,231 women, who were 56 years old on average when diagnosed with breast cancer, with their outcomes. Over a minimum of 8.3 years of follow up, 341 women died (223 from breast cancer) and 327 had a recurrence, progressions, or new primary breast cancer diagnoses.

Compared with the least active women (less than 1.4 hours per week of recreational activity), those who engaged in more than 3.9 hours per week of moderate intensity recreational activity had 34 percent decreased risk for the combined outcomes, and 44 percent reduced risk for death from breast cancer.

These effects remained apparent after allowing for other factors potentially associated with survival such as body mass, tumor stage, and age.

Vigorous-intensity recreational activity lowered the risk of breast cancer mortality, but did not appear to reduce the risk of other outcomes.

Friendenreich notes her team continues examinations of "exactly what type and dose of activity is related to improved survival after cancer." Ultimately they hope this research leads to development of clear exercise guidelines for cancer patients.

SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, April 2009

http://www.lifescript.com/Health/News/Reuters/2009/04/15/Lifetime_exercise_may_cut_breast_cancer_death_risk.aspx

Coffee, tea tied to lower uterine cancer risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who drink a few cups of coffee and tea each day may have a lower risk of endometrial cancer, new study findings suggest.

Endometrial cancer arises in the lining of the uterus. Some risk factors have been established -- including older age, obesity and factors that expose women to more estrogen, such as late monopause and estrogen therapy after menopause.

The possible role of diet has been less clear.

In the new study, researchers found that among nearly 1,100 women they surveyed, coffee and tea drinkers seemed to have a lower risk of the uterine cancer than non-drinkers.

Women who drank more than four cups of coffee and tea each day were only half as likely as non-drinkers to have endometrial cancer. Similarly, women who drank only tea -- more than two cups per day -- had a 44 percent lower risk of the disease.

Women who drank coffee alone showed a lower risk as well, but the evidence was not as strong. Those who drank more than two cups a day were 29 percent less likely to have endometrial cancer, but the finding was not significant in statistical terms, the researchers report in the International Journal of Cancer.

Exactly why tea and coffee might protect against endometrial is not certain. One possibility is caffeine, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Susan E. McCann of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

When they looked only at decaffeinated coffee, the researchers found no link between the beverage and the risk of endometrial cancer.

In addition, they note, lab research shows that caffeine induces certain enzymes that help neutralize potentially cancer-causing substances in the body.

However, other compounds in tea and coffee may also be at work, according to McCann's team. Both beverages contain various antioxidant compounds -- like flavonoids, catechins and isoflavones -- which help protect body cells from damage that can eventually lead to cancer.

Still, the current findings show only an association between coffee and tea and lower endometrial cancer risk. The question of whether the beverages are responsible for the benefit requires further research.

McCann and her colleagues point out that in this study, at least part of the benefit seemed to be explained by coffee and tea drinkers' lower average weight.

SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, April 1, 2009.

http://www.lifescript.com/Health/News/Reuters/2009/04/16/Coffee_tea_tied_to_lower_uterine_cancer_risk.aspx