In Spain, One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimeBreast cancer is the most common tumor in Western women, with an estimated 8% probability of developing it before the age of 75 in Europe. Prevention programs and advances in research into new treatments have increased survival rates, which in Spain are above 80% five years after diagnosis.
El GEICAM Group Breast Cancer Research, in collaboration with the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) , has conducted an epidemiological study exploring the relationship between physical activity and breast cancer risk and the results have been published in the journal Gynecologic Oncology.
The aim of this research, which involved 23 Spanish hospitals, was to determine the impact of physical exercise on the risk of breast cancer and to assess the extent to which complying with international recommendations on physical exercise is associated with a lower chance of developing the disease.
The study evaluates the extent to which adhering to international exercise recommendations is associated with a lower likelihood of developing the disease. Thus, Spanish women with a sedentary lifestyle have a 71% higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who meet international recommendations for physical exercise.
The results suggest that exercise has a greater protective effect in premenopausal women than in postmenopausal women.who need to do more intense exercise to obtain the same level of protection.
The authors conclude, in summary, that, in general, maintaining adequate physical activity has a preventive effect on the development of this tumor in pre- and postmenopausal women and across all molecular subtypes. They consider these findings particularly important in Spain, given the increasing incidence of overweight and obesity cases recorded in recent decades in our country. The prevalence of physical inactivity continues to rise, reaching a rate of 45% in 2013. It is estimated that 13,8% of breast cancer cases could be avoided if inactive women stopped being so.
*Information extracted from the Press release Published by the AECC on 19/01/2017