THE ESSENTIAL
- Complications of cancer are muscle atrophy and impaired heart function
- Physical exercise practiced before the disease reduces the risk of complications and slows tumor growth
Above all, do not wait to be sick! When practiced before being diagnosed with cancer, physical exercise can slow the growth of tumors once the disease has declared itself. And moreover, it reduces the effects of what is called the “wasting syndrome” linked to cancer. These are the conclusions of a study carried out on animal models by American researchers.
The “wasting syndrome” is one of the complications linked to cancer, it affects up to 80% of patients and, above all, it is associated with the causes of death in one out of three cases. It is a metabolic disorder that causes progressive but severe muscular atrophy and a decline in cardiac function. Overall, the quality of life of patients affected by this disorder is lower.
Aerobic exercises such as running
“Engaging in regular aerobic exercise such as running is an affordable and effective way to reduce the risk of cancer and cancer complications,” says Louisa Tichy, graduate student at the University of North Carolina and author of this work carried out on mice.
Animals were studied for eight weeks, some exercising on a treadmill, others doing no exercise. After those eight weeks, the researchers induced cancer in some of the exercised mice as well as some of the sedentary mice, with some mice in both groups kept cancer-free to serve as a control group.
A 60% lower tumor volume
Mice with cancer and having a sedentary lifestyle showed lower heart function than those who exercised and the latter had a tumor volume 60% smaller than the group of sedentary mice.
Previous research had already shown the anti-inflammatory properties of physical exercise and its impact on the wasting syndrome, but none of these studies had studied the effect of this lifestyle when adopted before the illness breaks out.
It remains for scientists to identify what the underlying links are between exercise and these two improvements in the health status of cancer patients, but “cData is crucial in identifying the best time to exercise as a preventive measure.”emphasizes Louisa Tichy.