Sept. 27--Exercising 48 hours before chemotherapy or radiation might undermine the cancer treatment, two researchers say, but other experts disagree with their conclusion.
Drs. Ragu Kanagasabai and Govindasamy Ilangovan, researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center, published the results of their three-year study last week. They found that a protein called heat shock factor-1, released when the body encounters stress, can help cancer cells resist treatment.
The stress can be psychological, such as during an argument, or physical, such as exercising 20 minutes on a treadmill, they said.
"People underestimate the impact of stress on cancer outcomes," said Ilangovan, who has been an associate professor and research investigator at OSU for eight years.
The researchers isolated breast-cancer cells and observed how they responded to ultraviolet treatment, to simulate chemotherapy and radiation. Cells that had been exposed to heat shock factor-1 were able to withstand treatment while cells without the protein were more effectively combated.
"HSF-1 assists the cancer cells to recover," Ilangovan said.
But some breast-cancer experts say that the study, which tested isolated cells and not animals or humans, does not support the assertion that exercising would make treatment less effective.
"Cells can behave very differently than what happens in real life," said Dr. Anil Sood, a gynecologic oncologist and researcher at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas.
Many phases of clinical testing must be done before drawing the conclusion that exercise in the days before treatment could undermine it, said Sood, who called the conclusion "more than a leap."
"You have no idea what the real effect is going to be from doing a cell-plate, in-vitro test," Sood said.
Dr. Charles Shapiro, director of breast oncology at OSU's Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital, agreed with Sood, adding that the upside of exercise during cancer treatment far outweighs any potential risks.
"Exercise may release HSF-1, but it also releases 10,000 other things that are beneficial," Shapiro said.
Despite the criticism, Ilangovan and Kanagasabai say they are confident that clinical studies will find that, in the two days prior to cancer treatment, exercise can enable cancerous cells to fight off radiation and chemotherapy.
"We're going to be studying it in the clinical labs to confirm, but I believe this test is consistent to what's happening with OSU patients," Kanagasabai said.
Raising the money to continue their research might take up to five years, Ilangovan said.
Both researchers stressed that exercise is a vital part of fighting cancer and that only during the 48-hour window prior to treatment should patients skip working out.
"Exercise is the best medicine people can have," Ilangovan said.
"You don't have to lose anything from not exercising for 48 hours. And you get the chance to gain something -- a more successful treatment."
wlowery@dispatch.com
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