The Impact of Physical Activity on Risk and Health-Related Quality of Life in Bladder Cancer

Sedentarism is an important modifiable risk factor in the struggle against cancer. In the last decades, the relationship between physical activity and different types of cancer has been investigated in depth.

To provide an overview of the literature on the effectiveness of physical activity in reducing the risk to develop bladder cancer and improving health-related quality of life in patients.

A systematic review was conducted through a search of the Embase, Cochrane, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS) databases to seek information and PRISMA system to delimitate the research. Outcomes included in searches were physical activity, tobacco consumption, obesity, body mass index, and metabolic syndrome, associated with bladder cancer and quality of life.

Database searches identified 394 records, of which 75 were duplicated. A total of 280 articles were excluded based on abstract screening. An additional 16 full-text articles were excluded because they did not meet the eligibility criteria. Overall, 21 of the 23 studies included in the review reported beneficial effects of physical activity in bladder cancer. The majority of papers found that physical activity is a significant factor in reducing the risk of bladder cancer. Moreover, physical activity improves health-related quality of life in bladder cancer survivors, and diminishes both recurrence and mortality in those who engage in regular activity. Lastly, physical inactivity is associated with increased body mass index, obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and unfavourable energy balance, which led to a greater probability of suffering from bladder cancer.

These data reinforce the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of bladder cancer and to improve survivorship and health-related quality of life of patients.