Exercise is cancer medicine, says Global Coalition

PanARMENIAN.Net - Current oncology practice is "failing those diagnosed with cancer" with regard to prescribing exercise, says a call-to-action report from a global coalition of 40 leaders from 17 organizations, spearheaded by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Medscape reports.

"A drug with similar benefit would likely be prescribed broadly," write the authors, led by Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, of Penn State Cancer Institute, Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Exercise prescriptions should now be standard of care for all appropriate oncology patients and physical activity "should become a vital sign, similar to blood pressure," recorded at each patient visit, the authors argue.

The majority of people living with and beyond cancer are not regularly physically active, the team says.

The authors provide a two-question, assess-advise-refer algorithm, which they say "does not require much time or skill by the oncology clinician."

The new report was published online October 16 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

There are 44 million cancer survivors worldwide and 18.1 million new diagnoses each year. One third to two thirds of people living with or beyond cancer are completely inactive, according to three large cohort studies of almost 13,000 people in the United States and United Kingdom.