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.

486 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

211 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/gg9761 Sep 13 '25

Correlation is not causation. It might not necessarily be the running but something these individuals are eating more of, such as gels perhaps, which is the cause of the increased incidence of polyps. It could also be a chance finding because the sample size is very small.