Just One Workout Fights Cancer at the Cellular Level, Study Finds

Just one session of resistance training or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may boost the body’s ability to slow cancer growth, according to new research. 

Regular exercise is known to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer and ease side effects of breast cancer treatment. It may also lower the risk of the cancer coming back (recurrence). A team of researchers at Edith Cowan University in Australia wanted to learn what happens at the cellular level when people with a history of breast cancer exercise. 

The researchers split 32 people who had been treated for stage I, II, and III breast cancers into two groups. Each group did a 45-minute workout of either resistance training or HIIT. Resistance training included reps of chest press, leg press, lunges, and more. HIIT workouts included reps of seven short bursts of high-intensity exercises. The participants had blood collected before they worked out, immediately after, and 30 minutes later. The workouts were repeated three times a week for 12 weeks. 

Back in the lab, the researchers treated breast cancer cells with the blood samples to see if the blood affected cancer growth. Both workouts reduced the growth of cancer cells by about 25% in the lab. A single workout of either resistance training or HIIT also boosted production of myokines, proteins released during exercise that may be involved in slowing the growth of cancer cells. The research is still early, but validates existing research on the benefits of exercising during and after breast cancer treatment. 

“Regardless of the exercise you do, you can gain benefit,” said lead author Francesco Bettariga, a PhD student at Edith Cowan University, in a statement.  Future research will study if the rapid production of myokines after a workout affects long-term outcomes in people with a history of breast cancer.