London - Scientists believe that cancer patients should lose weight and take up exercise to slash their risk of death.
As they prepare the world’s biggest trial into the effects of diet on breast cancer, the US researchers predict that even small amounts of weight loss and moderate exercise can improve survival odds by more than 20 per cent.
Following previous research on the benefits of weight loss, the study could lead to a low calorie diet and brisk walk being routinely prescribed to treat all forms of cancer alongside surgery and chemotherapy. It is thought that excess fat tissue encourages the circulation of the hormones oestrogen, insulin and leptin, which fuel tumour growth.
The team from Harvard Medical School announced the launch of the trial at the American Society for Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago yesterday.
They predict it will show that losing 10 per cent of weight increases survival chances over a five year period by between 20 and 23 per cent.
The team will study 13,200 women with breast cancer over two years, of whom half will be told to eat no more than 1,500 calories a day and exercise for half an hour, five times a week.
They will be urged to lose 10 per cent of their body weight, an average of just over a stone. The findings – expected in five years’ time – will be eagerly awaited by cancer experts around the world, as they could prompt a major overhaul in treatment guidelines for all types of tumours.
Results from a series of other studies unveiled at the conference have already found that weight loss and exercise may hugely impact survival odds.
Research by Yale University showed that woman who lost just 6 per cent of their body weight had far lower levels of hormones which trigger tumours.
Professor Melinda Irwin, from Yale, presented a number of studies on the changes in cancer triggering hormones in women who lost weight and took exercise. She said patients should be urged to lose weight as soon as they were diagnosed, adding: ‘It’s the next best pill to treatment and it’s free and has no side effects.’
Daily Mail