University of São Paulo: European study confirms importance of physical activity in breast cancer prevention

A study carried out at Charles University, in the Czech Republic, concluded that physical exercise is essential for the reduction of breast cancer, the type with the highest incidence in females. 130,000 women of European descent were analyzed, of which 70,000 had tumors that had spread.

There is already a consensus and there is evidence since the 1990s that physical activity is good for you and has an impact on reducing the risk of cancer – with data collected it is possible to quantify how much it is possible to reduce it. For breast cancer, it has been a consensus for some time that the reduction is 40%. The recommendation is to practice any physical exercise.

A sedentary lifestyle, in turn, increases the risk for the evolution and development of the disease by 104%. Therefore, to avoid it, it is not enough just to practice exercises, even if every day. It is essential that a sedentary lifestyle decreases, by reducing the time we spend sitting, for example.

It is better to do little than not to do
The ideal is 150 minutes of moderate physical activity spread over most days of the week. Exercise improves the functioning of the immune system, helps to reduce systemic inflammation, bloating, overweight and obesity, and modulates hormonal action, which helps in the reduction of fat tissue. Frequency, therefore, is very important: it is better to do little than not do it.

“This international recommendation with physical activities recommends that you reduce your sitting time, do as many activities as you can while standing and introduce more activity into your daily life”, explains Christina May Moran de Brito, medical coordinator of the health service. rehabilitation of ICESP (São Paulo State Cancer Institute). She still remembers that our current day-to-day is very sedentary and we need to counteract this reality.

“Exercise not only helps significantly in the prevention of breast cancer, but we also know that it reduces the recurrence of breast cancer for those who already have the disease or for those who have had the disease. It increases survival, so it acts as an effective remedy”, says the doctor. Not only is breast cancer decreasing, but colon and prostate cancer as well. “We know that physical exercise also reduces colon cancer: it improves bowel habits, so it reduces the exposure of intestinal tissue to carcinogens,” she says.

Physical activity is only part of prevention
Physical exercise plays an important role in prevention and risk reduction, but this does not replace early detection, which is essential. Christina May shows that only 10% of breast cancer has to do with heredity, the rest are environmental and individual factors that increase the predisposition: alcohol consumption, hormonal exposure, history of menstruation very early and menopause very late, how many pregnancies in a lifetime and family history of ovarian cancer are some of them.

“There is suggestive evidence that smoking increases the risk of breast cancer. So far they are not conclusive, but there is evidence”, comments Christina.

Finally, the doctor reinforces the importance of mammography, which is indicated annually for women over 50 years old. Also those who have a family history of the disease should seek the doctor as soon as possible, so that detection is early, in addition to always being attentive to local changes.