Cancer Treatment: By testing 20 breast cancer patients, researchers found that the number of cancer-killing white blood cells will increase during exercise.
According to a research conducted with the help of the University of Turku in Finland, 30 minutes of physical exercise increases the amount of white blood cells that destroy cancer tumors.
White blood cells are cells of the immune system that fight against cancer, bacteria and viruses. However, not all white blood cells destroy cancer cells, and some of them even provide the basis for the development of cancer. The most important cancer-killing cells are cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells, and the cells that cause cancer to grow and spread are T-regulatory cells and suppressor cells derived from myeloid.
Cancer Treatment, According to ScienceDaily, the balance of different types of white blood cells determines whether the immune system is working to destroy cancer or cause it to spread. “If there are more cancer-killing cells in the tumor area than cancer-promoting cells, the body has a greater ability to fight the disease,” says Tia Kouvola, lead author of the study from the University of Turku, Finland.
Twenty patients with breast cancer, who were newly diagnosed and therefore had not yet started treatment, participated in this research. These patients pedaled on a stationary bike for 30 minutes with the amount of resistance that was at their discretion, and blood was taken from them while resting before pedaling, during exercise, and after exercise. The researchers examined the amount of white blood cells in the blood samples and compared their amount during exercise with their amount at rest.
Cancer Treatment: Half An Hour Of Exercise Benefit
Cancer Treatment, They found that the amount of several different types of white blood cells in the bloodstream increased during exercise. Meanwhile, the number of cancer-killing cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells increased more. On the other hand, the numbers of cancer-promoting regulatory T cells and amyloid-derived suppressor cells were unchanged.
The researchers also looked at the number of different types of white blood cells compared to the total number of white blood cells and found that the number of natural killer cells was significantly increased, while myeloid-derived suppressor cells were decreased. According to the findings of these researchers, the number and proportion of cancer-killing cells in the bloodstream increased during exercise, and the proportion of cancer-promoting cells either remained constant or decreased.
Of course, Kouvola says: “It is not yet clear whether these changes in white blood cells change the number of white blood cells in the tumor area or not.” According to the obtained evidence, one hour after training, the number of white blood cells decreases to the amount of resting time. “With current knowledge, we can’t say what happens to white blood cells after exercise, but preclinical studies have shown that cancer-killing cells travel to the tumor site.”
Cancer Treatment, The researchers also investigated the effect of different types of breast cancer on the reactions of white blood cells in her breasts. They found that the larger the tumor, the lower the number of natural killer cells. Also, the number of cytotoxic T cells in “hormone receptor positive” breast cancer, which has estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors, increases less than “hormone receptor negative” breast cancer.
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