Colon Cancer and Exercise: Can Physical Activity Reprogram Genes?

Jul 28, 2025

Read Time: 3 minutes

Row of people leaning down to pick up kettlebell weights

A new study led by researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the (the U) shows that regular exercise may do more than help colon cancer patients feel better—it may actually change gene activity in both tumors and surrounding fat tissue.

“This is about more than fitness,” says , a PhD student at the U leading this project. “We’re seeing early indication that exercise might actually change how cancer behaves at a molecular level. This work and the necessary follow-up studies can’t happen without funding at every stage—from basic science to clinical trials and large population studies.”

“It’s easy to feel discouraged if you don’t see results on the scale. But your fat tissue and your cells could be changing in ways you can’t see—and those changes matter. It’s one of the most empowering things we could tell patients.”

Vicky Bandera

The Power of Exercise and Discovery

Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States. While screening and treatment save lives, lifestyle factors like physical activity are increasingly recognized as crucial to long-term outcomes. Bandera, who studied exercise oncology, was driven by a simple question: Could movement change not just how patients feel, but what characteristics a growing tumor develops?

“Seeing patients struggle with side effects pushed me to study how we can leverage something as accessible as exercise,” she says. “More work needs to be done to catch up with what we were seeing in improved survivorship—and that’s only possible through continued investment in cancer research.”

Tracking Exercise and Gene Activity in Colon Cancer

The research team analyzed tumor and visceral adipose tissue (VAT)—a type of fat deep in the abdomen—from 112 patients with stage 1–3 colon cancer. Participants were classified as either:

Active: exercising at least 150 minutes per week (moderate to vigorous activity)
Inactive: exercising less than 1 hour per week

Using RNA sequencing, the researchers compared gene expression in tumors and fat tissue between groups to see how physical activity might affect their biology.

In tumors of active patients

Genes tied to cancer progression (angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition) were less active.
Genes involved in energy production (oxidative phosphorylation) were also less active—a potential sign of altered tumor metabolism.

In fat tissue of active patients

Genes related to metabolism (fatty acid breakdown, glycolysis) were more active, suggesting that exercise may reshape not just the tumor, but also other tissues nearby.

“What’s amazing is that even the deep fat next to the tumor may be influenced by exercise,” explains Bandera. “It’s not just about losing weight—this suggests your internal biology may be changing in ways that could reduce cancer aggressiveness.”

Tailoring Cancer Care

While this study used self-reported exercise data, Bandera hopes future research will include studies that explore how exercise affects the body at a biological level, wearable devices, and randomized trials to better understand how activity directly impacts gene expression. The goal: more rigorous evidence that could lead to personalized exercise prescriptions based on tumor biology.

“We already knew that exercise is good for our patients in a wide range of ways, from improving fatigue to improving survival and so much more. Here is one more piece of evidence, this time directly from a tumor and its surrounding tissue.”

Long-Term Funding Supports Vital Research

This work was made possible by data from the and an National Institutes of Health-funded collaboration exploring how fat tissue and tumors interact. These are long-term, resource-intensive studies—and they rely on consistent funding from government agencies and philanthropic support.

“This kind of research takes years, teams of people across multiple fields, and a lot of support,” Bandera says. “You can’t do it without investments in infrastructure, data, and collaboration. If we want to keep discovering what makes cancer tick—and how to stop it—we need that support to continue. When we fund research, we don’t just move science forward—we give people tools to live longer, healthier lives.”

Even if you’re not facing a cancer diagnosis, the research has clear implications: Exercise changes your health from the inside out.

“It’s easy to feel discouraged if you don’t see results on the scale,” Bandera says. “But your fat tissue and your cells could be changing in ways you can’t see—and those changes matter. It’s one of the most empowering things we could tell patients.”

“When we fund research, we don’t just move science forward—we give people tools to live longer, healthier lives.”

Federal funding and donor support enable breakthroughs.

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