A prospective study of physical activity and cardiometabolic diseases in association with cancer risk

A new study led by researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), together with collaborators from Centre Léon Bérard (France), the University of Regensburg (Germany), the University of Exeter (United Kingdom), the University of Calgary (Canada), and the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Steering Committee, reports that people who were more physically active had a lower risk of cancer and that this association was similar in adults with and without cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The study focused on physical activity outside of work, including household and recreational activities. This research was published in Nature Communications Medicine.

The study found that higher levels of physical activity were linked to a lower risk of 15 physical activity-related cancer types analysed together. The association was similar in people with and without type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease. Moreover, the findings were broadly similar when evaluating all cancers combined.

The analysis included 598 890 adults in six European countries from two large population studies (EPIC and UK Biobank). The researchers compared cancer risk across different levels of physical activity and assessed whether the patterns differed between participants with and without cardiometabolic diseases.

The results suggest that the potential cancer-related benefits of being physically active extend to adults living with type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. This finding is clinically relevant because some people with chronic diseases may feel uncertain about exercising regularly. Overall, the study adds to evidence supporting physical activity as a key strategy for cancer prevention across population groups, including people with chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease.

The research was funded by World Cancer Research Fund and the French National Cancer Institute (INCa).

Gebremariam A, Fontvieille E, Gan Q, Peruchet-Noray L, Coutaz-Repland R, Noh H, et al.
A prospective study of physical activity and cardiometabolic diseases in association with cancer risk
Commun Med. Published online 25 May 2026;
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-026-01665-9

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