Expert researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center reveals that exercise may help counter the weakening of body's anti-tumor-killing immune responses.
This study demonstrates how exercise can correct immune dysfunction in the lungs to provide a stronger defense against tumorsDr. Sai Yendamuri, Chair, Department of Thoracic Surgery.
The study, published in Annals of Surgery, found that physical activity was associated with fewer immune cells that suppress the anti-tumor responses, and more CD8+ T cells, which can actively destroy tumors, researchers observed slower tumor growth in exercising mice with small lung cancer cell (NSCLC), suggesting that workout could potentially complement existing cancer treatment.
Researchers used RNA sequencing and flow cytometry, am compared the effects of exercise on tumors and infiltrating leucocytes; white blood cells that can destroy tumor cells in obese and lean mice. The animals were divided into groups based on their weight, cancer status and whether they had access to an exercise wheel or remained sedentary.
Among obese mice, those that exercised had fewer regulatory T cells, or Tregs, which can suppress anti-tumor immune activity, and more CD8+ T cells, which can attack tumors cells. Exercising mice with NSCLC also showed slower tumors growth compared with their sedentary counterparts.
Exercising can provide a free, non-invasive adjunct to a patient’s treatment regimen that has the potential to improve outcomes.Andrew Ray, PT, PhD, Associate Professor of Oncology, Department of Cancer Prevention & Control.
The researchers also examined lung samples from 73 patients with NSCLC, categorising them based on body fat and physical activity levels. Samples from physically active patients contained fewer Tregs and fewer fat-enhanced myeloid cells, another type of cell that can suppress the body’s tumors-killing response. However, the study does not establish that exercise can treat or cure lung cancer. The tumor-growth findings were observed in mice, while the human component examined immune characteristics in patient samples. Further research is needed to determine whether exercise directly improves clinical outcomes in people with lung cancer.
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The researchers said the findings support further investigation into exercise as a potential adjunct to conventional lung cancer treatment. The study was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health and was published in Annals of Surgery.
(Newswise/AM)