A study conducted at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Australia has shown that exercise can be an important weapon in the fight against cancer, Science Daily reports.
Exercise causes muscles to secrete certain proteins in the blood, called myokines, and ECU scientists have found that they can suppress tumor growth and even contribute to the active fight against cancer cells.
In a clinical trial, patients diagnosed with obese prostate cancer underwent regular exercise training for 12 weeks, agreeing to have blood samples taken before and after this program.
The researchers then applied the samples directly to living prostate cancer cells.
The study’s supervisor, Professor Robert Newton, said the results help understand why cancer progresses more slowly in exercise patients.
“Patients’ anti-cancer mykine levels have increased over the three months,” he said.
“After collecting blood samples before and after exercise and placing them over the living prostate cancer cells, I noticed a significant suppression of the growth of these cells in post-workout blood. This is a fairly substantial indicator according to whose long-term exercise creates an environment to suppress cancer in the body, “said the researcher.
Doctoral candidate and study leader Jin-Soo Kim said that while mykinins could signal cancer cells to grow more slowly – or stop growing – they failed to destroy those cells. However, said Jin-Soo Kim, myokin may be associated with other blood cells to actively fight cancer. “Myokines themselves do not signal cells to die. However, they signal our immune cells – T cells – to attack and destroy cancer cells,” the researcher explained.
According to Professor Newton, exercise complements other treatments for prostate cancer, such as androgen deprivation therapy, which is both effective and commonly prescribed, but can also lead to significant reductions in muscle mass. and as the mass of adipose tissue increases. This can lead to sarcopenic obesity (obesity with a low percentage of muscle mass), poor health and risk of cancer, according to Agerpres.ro.
All study participants underwent this type of therapy and were obese, with a training program aimed at maintaining muscle mass and decreasing the amount of adipose tissue.
The study focused on prostate cancer, but Professor Newton said the findings could have a wider impact. “We believe this mechanism applies to all cancers,” he said.
The ECU conducts additional studies, including a study in which patients with advanced prostate cancer undergo a six-month exercise program. Although the final results are still pending, Professor Newton said the preliminary data are encouraging. “These men have a heavy burden of the disease, have side effects associated with long-term treatment and feel very ill, but are able to produce anti-cancer drugs from within.
The study was published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
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