Reasons why exercise reduces cancer risk

There is much evidence that exercise reduces cancer risk, but what is the connection between the two? 

According to a study on mice, this may be due to a metabolic change that provides muscle cells with more energy to burn fat while "consuming" the energy needed for cancer cells to grow, wrote Science Alert.

In research led by a team from Yale University, the metabolic responses of cancerous mice were analyzed, and the animals were divided into groups based on their diet and level of physical activity.

Researchers used molecular tracers to track where glucose was metabolized in mice and found that physically active mice effectively directed energy to muscles rather than cancer cells.

Four weeks later, the tumors of mice fed a high-fat diet and exercising regularly were significantly smaller than those of mice that ate the same diet but remained sedentary.

"In obese mice that voluntarily exercised after tumor injection, a 60 percent reduction in tumor size was observed," said Brooks Litner, a researcher from Yale University.

The team also identified 417 metabolism-related genes that were expressed differently in active mice compared to sedentary mice.

Overall, the changes in the muscles indicated that the tumors had entered a kind of survival mode under the influence of stress . 

In animal tumors, exercise has been observed to reduce a protein called mTor, which may be important in reducing tumor growth; this finding could provide scientists with information about new treatments.

According to the researchers, the findings indicate that glucose is the main metabolic mediator that leads to the destruction of tumors through the effect of exercise.

However, they also noted that this metabolic relationship and the ability of exercise to reduce tumor growth may depend on the duration of exercise.

Cancer, in all its forms, is a complex disease, and many mechanisms play a role in the growth and stabilization of tumors.

Patients cannot get rid of cancer simply by going to the gym and exercising. However, physical activity can be an important factor in increasing the chances of prevention, particularly regarding disease progression.  

Obese mice that exercised for two weeks before tumor injection had smaller tumors compared to sedentary mice that did not exercise.

"These data underscore the importance of looking at the role of exercise in cancer prevention from a broader perspective," Leitner and her team wrote in their study report.

The study suggests that the benefits of exercise are not limited to a single type of cancer.

Researchers need to conduct further studies to see if the same process works in humans.

They expressed a willingness to continue research on human tumors and to adopt a more structured approach regarding the type and duration of exercise. This would fully reveal how staying active helps fight cancer.

The researchers concluded, "Investigating the role of physical activity and the molecular pathways regulated by exercise could reveal new therapeutic targets in oncology, especially in patients who are unable to exercise."

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