According to a new study from Texas A&M University and elsewhere, there is a direct link between muscle contraction and a reduction in breast cancer.
It has long been known that exercise can benefit a person’s overall health.
This study takes it a step further by finding a specific factor released during exercise that suppresses signaling within breast cancer cells, leading to reduced tumor growth and even the killing of cancerous cells.
The research team found that the factors that inhibit cancer growth are inherent in muscle and are released into the bloodstream during muscle contraction, regardless of a person’s usual activity level or how developed their muscles are.
Even simple forms of muscle contraction, such as going on a walk or dancing to your favorite song, can play a role in fighting breast cancer.
The study was conducted using rats, which were trained to complete a moderate-intensity exercise program.
The rats ran on treadmills for five weeks, with the incline gradually increasing over time. The longer the contraction session lasted, the more factors were released.
The research team did not identify an exact minimum muscle contraction time necessary for the effect.
But they noted that 30 minutes a day of moderate-intensity exercise for at least five days a week, as recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine, could promote the release of these factors.
The team notes that regular exercise could not only lead to disrupted communication in cancerous cells to stop their growth but may also play a role in preventing breast cancer’s development in the first place.
The decreased risk of breast cancer with exercise comes from the idea that if you have pre-neoplastic cells and you’re exercising a lot and slowing their growth, those precancerous cells can be destroyed by the body before they start taking over.
The research team focused on the luminal A line of breast cancer, which is the most common type of breast cancer that makes up approximately 60% of breast cancer cases.
But they saw similar, but more varied, effects with other types of breast cancer and with different cell lines.
Further studies are being conducted to determine the exact identity of the factors being released by muscle.
Despite the need for further research, the study’s findings are promising, as regular exercise is strongly correlated with decreased risk of prostate and colon cancers as well.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that low-fat diet could help improve survival in breast cancer, and what you need to know cancer and booster shot.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies about new way to increase the longevity of cancer survivors, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
The study was conducted by Amanda Davis et al and published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.
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