Year published: 2025
Study by: Led by researchers at the University of Alberta
How this research was done: The CHALLENGE trial included 889 people with stage II or III colon cancer. All had completed chemotherapy and were doing less than 150 minutes of exercise per week — the amount usually recommended for good health. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group took part in a 3-year structured exercise program with coaching and support, while the other received health education materials. Everyone was then followed for nearly 8 years to see whether exercise influenced disease-free survival (how long people lived without the cancer returning), overall survival (how long people lived overall), fitness and quality of life.
What they found: These are the findings that stood out to me:
- People in the exercise program were about 28% less likely to have their cancer come back or to die during the study (disease-free survival). At 5 years, 80% of people in the exercise group were cancer-free compared to 74% in the health education group.
- People in the exercise program were also about 37% less likely to die overall (overall survival). At 8 years, 90% of people in the exercise group were alive compared to 83% in the health education group.
- People in the exercise group did have more muscle and joint aches: about 19% reported these side effects compared to 12% in the health education group.
Why I found this study important: What stands out to me about the CHALLENGE trial is how rigorous and well-designed it is. We’ve all heard that exercise is “good for you,” but this study takes it further — it provides hard numbers and long-term follow-up to show that exercise after chemotherapy can actually improve survival in colon cancer.
What to take from this study: What I find powerful about this study is that it transforms familiar advice — “get moving” — into level 1 evidence we can trust. For me, the takeaway is that exercise deserves to be seen as more than a lifestyle tip. It’s an important part of survivorship, something that can support recovery and long-term health — and now we have strong evidence to back that up.
