As the new year begins, many people decide to start exercising more or join a gym. A recent study brings good news: just 10 minutes of intense exercise might help protect your body against cancer.
Researchers from Newcastle University found that even a short burst of physical activity can cause quick changes in the blood that may help stop bowel cancer from growing and help cells repair damaged DNA.
In the study, scientists discovered that exercise boosts the level of tiny molecules in the bloodstream. These molecules are known to reduce inflammation, improve how blood vessels work, and support metabolism.
When researchers added blood taken after exercise to bowel cancer cells in the lab, they saw changes in more than 1,300 genes. These genes are involved in how cells repair themselves, make energy, and grow. Some genes that help cancer cells grow were turned off, while others that help cells fix DNA damage were turned on.
This research helps explain how exercise can lower the risk of bowel cancer. When we exercise, our blood carries signals that tell our genes what to do.
These signals can help slow down the growth of cancer cells and keep our DNA stable. The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer and offer new hope for cancer prevention and treatment.
Dr. Sam Orange, who led the study, said it’s amazing that exercise doesn’t just help healthy parts of the body—it also sends powerful messages through the blood that can directly change how cancer cells behave.
This discovery might lead to new treatments that copy or increase the effects of exercise, which could improve how we treat cancer and help patients recover.
One key discovery was that exercise increases the activity of genes that help cells use oxygen more efficiently. This helps the cells produce energy more effectively. At the same time, exercise turned off genes linked to fast cell growth, which can make cancer more aggressive.
The blood from people who had exercised also helped cells repair damaged DNA, especially by turning on a gene called PNKP, which is involved in fixing broken DNA.
The study involved 30 men and women between the ages of 50 and 78. All the volunteers were overweight or obese, which is a known risk factor for cancer, but they were otherwise healthy. Each person did a short cycling test that lasted around 10 minutes.
Afterward, blood samples were taken and tested for changes in 249 proteins. The scientists found that 13 of these proteins increased after the exercise, including one called interleukin-6 (IL-6), which plays a role in repairing cell damage.
Dr. Orange, who also works at The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, explained that even one session of exercise can help create a less welcoming environment for cancer cells. He said this research is a strong reminder that every bit of movement counts. Even a single workout can send powerful signals throughout the body.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, after breast, prostate, and lung cancer. Every year, nearly 44,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in the UK. It’s also deadly—someone dies from bowel cancer every 30 minutes.
But the good news is that physical activity can lower the risk of developing this cancer by about 20%. Staying active doesn’t have to mean going to the gym—it can include walking, biking, doing housework, or gardening.
Looking ahead, the researchers want to see if regular exercise causes longer-lasting changes in the blood. They also plan to study how these exercise effects work together with treatments like chemotherapy or radiation. This research is an exciting step forward in understanding how something as simple as exercise can help in the fight against cancer.
This study offers an important message: short bursts of exercise can do more than improve fitness—they can change the body in ways that help fight cancer. The most impressive part of the study is how quickly these changes happen—within minutes.
By boosting helpful proteins and gene activity, exercise seems to prepare the body to protect itself better. While more research is needed to confirm how long these effects last or how they work with cancer treatment, the current findings highlight a simple and free way to lower cancer risk.
For people who struggle to find time for long workouts, this study shows that even a quick 10-minute effort could make a big difference.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and new way to increase the longevity of cancer survivors.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how to fight cancer with these anti-cancer superfoods, and results showing daily vitamin D3 supplementation may reduce cancer death risk.
The study was published in International Journal of Cancer.
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