Defense against tumors: sport stimulates cancer therapy

All content is checked by medical journalists.

MunichSport has a preventive effect against many diseases. But it can also help to make you healthy: physical activity has been shown to support cancer patients in the fight against the disease. It can be quite exhausting - explained researchers at the German Cancer Congress in 2014.

How sweaty can sport actually be when you're sick? Professor Wilhelm Bloch and his colleagues at the German Sport University Cologne investigated this question in a small study. To do this, they recruited 15 cancer patients with breast, colon or prostate cancer. The 40 to 67-year-old participants had received therapy at least one year ago. 15 other healthy subjects served as a comparison group. The researchers accompanied the participants as they prepared for a half marathon and examined the athletes' immune status before and after the run.

Turbo for natural killer cells

The result: The intensive endurance training is good for the cancer patient. This became visible in the natural killer cells. These are defense cells that are able to recognize and kill tumor cells. "Patients with good fitness have more natural killer cells that strengthen the defense against cancer," says Bloch. The scientists therefore suspect that strenuous forms of exercise can also be used to achieve a health-promoting effect. Always provided that the individual background allows it.

"Our studies indicate that more productive cancer patients are better equipped to fight against the recurrence of their disease," says Bloch. The more endurance and productive the patients are, the more defense cells the organism has available for defense against tumor cells.

Form of therapy without side effects

Sport as a therapy companion or helper in aftercare for cancer is becoming increasingly important. "Sport and exercise work like a drug with no side effects," explains Gerd Nettekoven from the German Cancer Aid. That is why the association has a corresponding guide “Exercise and Sport in Cancer”, which can be obtained from www.krebshilfe.de. This summarizes the findings on this topic. (lh)

Source: Press release German Cancer Congress 2014

Tags:  menopause organ systems gpp