Exercise may lower breast cancer risk

Exercise lowered breast cancer risk 52 percent of women entering or past menopause, Canadian researchers said.

The study, published in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, reinforced the correlation between breast cancer and being overweight or a smoker.

The study looked at 280 women with breast cancer and 280 women without cancer. All were direct ancestors of first French colonists who did not carry BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes predisposing women to breast cancer.

The study found weight-gain risk increased if weight increased later in life. A woman who gained more than 22 pounds after age 30 or more than 12 pounds after age 40 was almost twice as likely to suffer from breast cancer as a woman with stable weight. The risk tripled if maximum weight was reached after age 50.

Cancer is a complex disease and can be latent for several years, lead researcher Vishnee Bissonauth of the Universite de Montreal and the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center said in a statement. Therefore, it is important to work on the factors we can control and to lead a healthy lifestyle, which means watching one’s weight, avoid smoking and doing regular exercise.