A single bout of either resistance or high-intensity interval training could help in the cancer battle, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found.

The work appears in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

ECU Ph.D. student Mr. Francesco Bettariga found that a single bout of exercise increased the levels of myokines—a protein produced by muscles—that has anti-cancer effects, and that could reduce the proliferation of cancer growth by 20% to 30%.

“Exercise has emerged as a therapeutic intervention in the management of cancer, and a large body of evidence exists that shows the safety and effectiveness of exercise as medicine, either during or post-cancer treatment,” Mr. Bettariga said.

His research with survivors of breast cancer measured myokine levels before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after a single bout of either resistance or high-intensity interval training, and found that both sets of exercise had a resultant increase in myokine levels.

While higher levels of myokines were expected in a healthy population, post a vigorous workout, Mr. Bettariga investigated whether breast cancer survivors would see the same results, given the impact that cancer treatments and cancer itself often have on the body.

“The results from the study show that both types of exercise really work to produce these anti-cancer myokines in breast cancer survivors. The results from this study are excellent motivators to add exercise as standard care in the treatment of cancer,” Mr. Bettariga said.

He added that the long-term implications of elevated myokine levels should be further investigated, particularly in relation to cancer recurrence.

Further research by Mr. Bettariga, appearing in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, investigated how changes in body composition—following consistent exercise—could impact inflammation, which plays a key role in breast cancer recurrence and mortality by promoting tumor progression.

Persistent inflammation not only promotes tumor progression by influencing cell proliferation, survival, invasiveness, and metastasis, but also inhibits immune function. Given that the cancer itself and the side-effects of treatments can elevate levels of inflammatory biomarkers, survivors of breast cancer are at increased risk of cancer progression, recurrence and mortality.

“Strategies are needed to reduce inflammation which may provide a less supportive environment for cancer progression, leading to a lower risk of recurrence and mortality in survivors of breast cancer,” Mr. Bettariga said.

The new research found that by reducing fat mass and increasing lean mass, through consistent and persistent exercise, cancer survivors had a better chance at reducing inflammation.

“If we are able to improve body composition, we have a better chance of decreasing inflammation because we are improving lean mass and reducing fat mass, which is responsible for releasing anti- and pro-inflammatory markers,” Mr. Bettariga said.

Unfortunately, quick fixes to reduce fat mass would not have the same beneficial effects, he stressed.

“You never want to reduce your weight without exercising, because you need to build or preserve muscle mass and produce these chemicals that you can’t do through just diet alone.”