Objective: To investigate the association between physical activity and common cancers.

Patients and Methods: This study was conducted in English by June 2018 to include studies reporting physical activity related cancer risks through a search in database of the PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. The search strategy included the keywords: “cancer”, “physical activity” or “mobility” or “inactivity” or “immobility”. Articles that looked at the relationship between each type of cancer and PA were entered in to the study and summarized in review.

Results: Physical activity is associated with a decreased risk of some types of cancers including: colorectal, breast, esophagus, lung, liver, cervical, endometrial, kidney, brain, and blood cancers. However, further studies are required to confirm the association between PA and prostate, head and neck, stomach, bladder, pancreas, and skin cancer risks.

Conclusions: Given that inactivity plays a role in most cancers, it is necessary to develop sports programs through educational strategies and provide programs to increase the community awareness of the benefits of physical activity and participation in regular weekly exercise programs in order to prevent the incidence of various cancers.