Could regular exercise boost a colorectal cancer patient’s chance of survival or reduce the side effects of their chemotherapy?

LCRC faculty are among those researching how regular physical activity – moderate to vigorous intensity - can boost the immune system and maximize its ability to fight a recurrence.

Collaborative studies at the LSU School of Kinesiology, Pennington Biomedical Research Center and AdventHealth, Orlando, evaluated colorectal cancer survivors who engaged in moderate exercise to discover what happens to their immune cells and the soluble proteins that help fight infections or future cancer cells.  The findings were published in 2025 in ScienceDirect  Journal of Sport and Health Science, “Effects of exercise on inflammation, circulating tumor cells, and circulating tumor DNA in colorectal cancer,” and Frontiers In Sports and Activity Living, “Effects of aerobic exercise on body composition and exercises in colon cancer survivors.”

“We are seeing an acute response to physical stress and that seems to prime the immune system and maximize our ability to fight other viruses or, again, future cancer cells,” said Exercise Immunologist Guillaume Spielmann, PhD.

It is a topic of interest to the National Cancer Institute, which funded the Exercise and Nutrition to Improve Cancer Treatment-Related Outcomes (ENICTO) Consortium to investigate whether exercise interventions during cancer treatment improve clinical outcomes, such as chemotherapy relative dose intensity.

The results could shift the paradigm in oncology care with exercise and nutrition programming as the standard of care in tandem with chemotherapy to improve dose intensity.

Louisiana’s colon cancer rate is among the highest in the country and the second leading cause of cancer death in the state. If detected early, it is highly treatable. The Louisiana Cancer Prevention and Control Program lists free and low-cost colon cancer screening resources at this link.

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