A new study found that a single bout of exercise can boost anti-cancer myokines in the blood, which may help suppress tumor growth in breast cancer survivors. Researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia tested 32 breast cancer survivors who underwent either resistance training or high-intensity interval training for 45 minutes.
The results showed that both types of exercise increased production of three types of myokine: decorin, IL-6, and SPARC. These proteins are naturally produced by skeletal muscle during exercise and have been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects and suppress tumor growth in preclinical studies.
In the lab, researchers introduced these myokines to breast cancer samples and found that they suppressed tumor growth by up to 30 percent. The study’s findings suggest that exercise may be a valuable tool in the treatment of breast cancer, particularly for triple-negative cancer cells which are often resistant to hormonal therapies.
While further research is needed to determine the long-term relevance of these responses, the study’s authors conclude that both resistance training and high-intensity interval training elicit acute changes in circulating myokines and reduced cancer cell growth. The study was published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/exercise-can-help-fight-breast-cancer-experiments-show