A high-intensity physical activity, which solicits cardio, would considerably reduce the risk of metastases in the event of cancer.
- The development of metastases can sometimes occur at the beginning of the cancer, when the tumor is small and has not been diagnosed.
- The most “cardio” sports are running, swimming, cycling, aerobics, rowing, cross-country skiing, boxing, jumping rope… Not to mention the many team sports that make you run , such as football or rugby.
One of the main complications of cancer is the rapid multiplication of abnormal cells with unusual growth that can migrate to other organs: this is called metastasis. Up to nine out of ten cancer deaths today are caused by so-called metastatic cancers, says the World Health Organization. However, according to a new study published in the journal CancerResearch, it would be possible to drastically reduce the risk of metastases by exercising regularly. But not just any: cardio.
A risk of metastases reduced by 72% thanks to cardio
To achieve these results, researchers at Tel Aviv University (Israel) studied both mouse models that had followed a physical exercise program and injected with cancer, but also human volunteers in good health, before and after a run. In total, some 3,000 people were followed medically for two decades. The objective: to determine the impact of physical exercise on the development of cancer according to its intensity, whereas previous studies have already shown that sport, in general, “reduced the risk of cancer by up to 35%”.
The results were clear: in rodents, the practice of high-intensity physical activity had “significantly reduced the development or size of metastatic tumors in the lymph nodes, lungs and liver”organs where tumors usually extend, can we read in a communicated researchers. Same observation in humans: people who regularly did cardio, such as interval running or aerobics, “reduced the risk of developing aggressive metastatic cancer by 72%” over the given period.
More energy for organs, less for metastases
Thus, the more intense the physical activity, the less chance the cancer has of spreading to other parts of the body and therefore of being fatal. But how to explain it? It’s all about sugar, researchers say. “Intensive physical exercise, aerobics for example, causes an increase in the consumption of glucose by the body, intended to nourish the muscles but also the organs solicited by the effort. In doing so, it makes it possible to reduce the quantity of energy available for the tumour”, explains Dr Yftach Gepner, lead author of the study.
Clearly, it is because the organs are more sugar-demanding in the event of cardio that the tumor no longer has sufficient energy to spread there. “If cancer does develop, fierce competition for glucose reduces the availability of energy essential for metastasis”summarizes the researcher.
“Exercise, with its unique metabolic and physiological effects, is more effective in preventing cancer than any drug or medical intervention to date. the cardio which therefore seems to be the most effective”concludes Dr. Yftach Gepner.
