PopulationsHumans263,184 participantsCohort study

Physical activity linked to lower liver cancer risk

At least four weekly hours of moderate to vigorous activity was linked to an estimated 18 fewer liver cancers per 100,000 by age 67 than under four hours.

Livers beneath walking, faceless people show fewer tumour patches than livers beneath a group standing still.

International Journal of Cancer6 Oct 2026, 11:24 BST

An observational analysis of 263,184 participants in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study evaluated physical activity and liver cancer risk. The data included 870 liver cancer cases. Researchers used a statistical model that accounted for deaths from other causes, which can occur before liver cancer develops.

They estimated the difference in risk had all participants completed at least four hours a week of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity rather than less than four hours. There were an estimated 18 fewer liver cancer cases per 100,000 people by age 67 and 58 fewer cases by age 78. The estimated risk differences were larger in older age groups than in younger ones.

Why it matters

Accounting for deaths from other causes matters when assessing cancer risk across older ages. The authors suggested that increasing physical activity across populations may reduce the growing global burden of liver cancer.

Caveats

This observational analysis cannot establish that physical activity caused the lower liver cancer risk. The differences were statistical estimates, not results from assigning people to exercise groups.