Health Tips: Did You Know Aerobic Exercise, Especially Running Reduce Cancer Risk By 72%

Looking at health data from 2,734 people over a 20-year period, the researchers determined that those who engaged in regular high-intensity aerobic workouts like running had 72% fewer metastatic cancers than those who were sedentary.

Then, in the study’s second phase, they monitored mice engaged in aerobic exercise before and after being injected with melanoma cancer cells.

What they found was that mice who engaged in regular exercise had fewer metastatic tumors than the sedentary animals.

After analyzing protein expression in their mouse model, the researchers observed metabolic changes related to glucose use in the active mice. The researchers said this suggests that exercise was creating glucose demand on internal organs, thus “starving” cancer cells of necessary fuel to proliferate.

“The study provides good evidence that regular aerobic exercise results in reprogramming those metabolic pathways associated with glucose utilization — which they refer to as a ‘metabolic shield,’” said James Hicks, Ph.D., a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California Irvine who was not involved in the study.

“This exercise-induced ‘reprogramming’ of healthy tissues increases competition for glucose (a primary fuel for cancer cells), thus ‘stealing’ vital energy from cancer cells,” Hicks said. “It would be interesting to determine if this redistribution is associated with changes in blood flow to tumors since blood flow is delivering glucose to the cells.”

“The paper provides insights into the underlying mechanisms of the links between exercise and cancer progression,” he added. “Additional mechanistic studies are needed to determine if the volume of exercise — intensity and duration — can be optimized for a broader population of cancer patients.”

Best Exercises For People With Cancer

High-intensity exercise such as running might be an ideal form of exercise for some people, but other exercises like swimming, rowing, and cycling can also provide a similar intensity with less strain on the joints.

High intensity also might not be possible depending on age and other factors. For these people, even moderate exercise still has a protective effect against cancer, Hicks said.

“Hundreds of epidemiological studies, comprised of millions of participants, provide strong evidence that regular, daily activities like brisk walking significantly reduce the risks of many cancers,” he said. “These results show 10 to 20 percent risk reductions for bladder, breast, colon, endometrial, esophageal adenocarcinoma, and renal and gastric cancers.

“High-intensity exercise may be challenging for many cancer patients,” he added. “However, moderate exercise levels that will raise your heart rate to 50 to 70 percent of the maximum heart rate are achievable.”