Exercise may help mitigate cancer treatment side effects, such as brain fog, pain, and fatigue.
- Researchers recently
conducted an umbrella-review to examine the impact exercise can have on
people undergoing cancer treatment.
- The results indicated that
exercise can mitigate some of the side effects of cancer treatments across
a range of cancer types.
- Both traditional exercise
and mind-body exercises showed benefits.
Cancer treatments can
cause a host of health problems. For example, among the many side effects of
one common type of cancer treatment, chemotherapyTrusted Source, there are
pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, and mood changes.
While prior researchTrusted Source shows that exercise can be
helpful in people undergoing cancer treatments, the authors of a new review
wanted to systematically assess the most recent evidence supporting this.
The researchers found
that, according to recent studies, exercise can mitigate some side effects of
cancer treatments. Additionally, they learned that pre-operative exercise can
reduce post-operative complications.
Overall, research
indicates that exercise can improve health outcomes. The new review appears in
the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
How well do
different exercise types work for different types of cancer?
More than 1.7 million
new cancer cases were reportedTrusted Source in 2021;
cancer rates continue to riseTrusted Source for many cancer
types each year.
People undergoing cancer
treatment often have a difficult time both physically and mentally. With this
in mind, the researchers wanted to expand on existing research surrounding
exercise and cancer.
The researchers cast a
wide net and used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and
Evaluations (GRADE) system to find 485 associations in 80 studies.
The researchers included
standard aerobic and resistance exercises as well as high-intensity interval
training (HIIT) and mind-body exercisesTrusted Source, such
as yoga and tai chi.
Since the researchers
were concerned that prior reviews were not wide enough in scope, they
considered many cancer types such as breast, prostate, and lung cancers. They
also included cancers associated with the digestive system, and blood cancers.
The researchers next
analyzed how well different exercises worked for different cancers.
Exercise
reduces both physical and mental side effects of therapy
Among the
associations, aerobic and
resistance exercises made up 9.9% of the associations, HIIT exercises accounted
for 3.7%, mind-body exercises made up 28.5%, and other types of exercises not
specified accounted for 57.9% of associations.
The researchers looked
at how these exercises impacted people with breast cancer (50.3%), lung cancer (9.7%), digestive system cancers (4.1%), blood cancer (2.7%), prostate cancer (2.5%),
and other types of cancers not specified (30.7%).
The researchers found
that 54% of the associations — between exercise and fewer therapy side effects
— that they analyzed were “statistically significant.” Using GRADE criteria,
the researchers also said that 48% of the associations were supported by either
high or moderate certainty evidence.
One way exercise
counteracted the effects of cancer treatments was by reducing pain. HIIT
programs and tai chi accomplished this.
HIIT programs and a combination of aerobic
activities and resistance training combatted cancer-related fatigue. Aerobic
exercises alone showed the potential to reduce chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms
associated with ovarian cancer.
Exercise also influenced
biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (a protein associated with inflammation
in the body), insulin, and physiological functioning.
Chemotherapy can
cause cardiotoxicityTrusted Source —
“damage to the heart and/or cardiovascular system.” The researchers found that
exercise, specifically aerobic, can counteract this as well.
The benefits of exercise were not limited to
physical symptoms; exercise also improved cognitive functioning, anxiety, and depression. Yoga showed significantly
improved mental health symptoms.
A final benefit of
exercise in people undergoing cancer treatment was the reduction of
post-operative complications. The researchers found that people who engaged in
exercise pre-op were associated with a lower chance of health issues associated
with the surgery.
Overall, the umbrella
study found a significant amount of evidence to support the notion that
exercise can help counteract some of the side effects of cancer treatment. From
physical to mental benefits, a variety of exercises can provide relief.
Exercise
may improve quality of life for people with cancer
Bhavana
Pathak, MD, a board-certified hematologist and medical oncologist,
and medical director of Integrative Oncology at MemorialCare Cancer Institute
at Orange Coast and Saddleback Medical Centers, spoke with Medical
News Today about the review.
“We want to encourage oncology professionals to
counsel their patients on increasing physical activity as a means to improve
their clinical outcomes, even when faced with serious diagnoses like cancer, in
the future,” said Pathak, who was not involved in the review.
She also noted the
importance of the findings to the quality of life in people undergoing cancer
treatments.
“The therapy we give —
while it could keep you alive — can take away a life worth living, without the
means to articulate, adapt, and engineer your life,” Pathak noted. “This type
of research speaks to the privilege and challenge both patients and physicians
have — designing and choosing treatments that have an impact on the rest of
their lives.”
Milan Sheth,
MD, quadruple board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, oncology, and
palliative care at MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute also spoke with MNT about
the review findings. Sheth was also not involved in the review.
He told us that the
paper “reinforces what we all suspected based on our own clinical experience
amongst patients receiving chemotherapy,” indicating “that exercise can
significantly reduce various side effects associated with cancer and its
treatment compared with no exercise.”
Sheth noted:
“Specifically,
the symptoms that seem to be most impacted or improved included peripheral
neuropathy, brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, and shortness of breath. Equally
important were improvements in the patient’s quality of life, in terms of
muscle strength, healthier body composition, sleep, quality, and enhanced
mood.”
When asked why exercise
may counteract some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy, he touched on
biomarkers associated with cancer.
“Insulin, insulin-like
growth factors, and C-reactive protein […] these biomarkers are linked with
cancer metabolism and systemic inflammation which can allow for further
progression of cancer and eliminate any protective effects against
chemotherapy,” said Sheth.
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