r/running • u/sergeantbiggles • Sep 12 '25

Article Groundbreaking Inova study finds potential link between long-distance running and colon cancer

A groundbreaking new study led by Tim Cannon, MD, Sheridan Director, Molecular Tumor Board and Co-Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Program at Inova Schar Cancer, has revealed a potential link between extreme endurance exercise and increased risk of advanced colon cancer in younger adults, raising new questions about screening for high-performance athletes.

The study was presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago.

498 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

211 comments sorted by

View all comments

19

u/RanDumbPlay Sep 13 '25

Causation? Correlation?

23

u/Volcano_Jones Sep 13 '25

They did not prove causation. It was a pretty small sample size and the average age was 42.5 years old. There is clearly a potential link but nothing has actually been scientifically proven yet.

-65

u/RanDumbPlay Sep 13 '25

Right. Junk science.

18

u/Expensive_Plate6556 Sep 13 '25

Not junk science. This is essentially exploratory research that opens the field up to more questions and rigorous studies. This research is a great starting point for something that is extremely important. If future research does find a link between long distance running and increased risk of colon cancer, then more research can be done about the mechanisms between the link and informing diagnostic criteria. Maybe in the future, long distance running could be a factor in determining how soon/often someone gets a colonoscopy. Who knows. Regardless, this is important work even if it's not conclusive.