A study published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention sought to determine if hormone replacement therapy might explain why physical activity lowers the risk of developing colon cancer in some women but not others. So, researchers examined the medical records of about 120,000 women and determined that yep, whether a woman has used hormone replacement may matter.
Results of the Study
In the study, maintaining an active lifestyle only lowered the colon cancer risk of post-menopausal women who hadn't used hormone replacement. The good news? Both sets of women win here because according to the researchers, hormone replacement lowered the risk of colon cancer and throwing physical activity into the mix simply didn't provide any additional benefit.
For more information about preventing colon cancer, please read the Top 10 Colon Cancer Prevention Tips.
Source: Mai, P. and Sullivan-Halley, J. "Physical Activity and Colon Cancer Risk among Women in the California Teachers Study." Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention 16 (1 Mar. 2007): 517-525. Accessed 24 Mar. 2007.
