High-Intensity Interval Aerobic Exercise Associated with Improved Tumor Suppressive Effects in Subjects with Advanced Prostate Cancer

by | Feb 22, 2023 | 2022, Cancer, Fitness and Exercise, Men's Health - Prostate, Prostate Cancer

Written by Taylor Woosley, Staff Writer. Post-analysis of serum myokine levels shows that there was a significant elevation of SPARC (P=0.048), OSM (P=0.001), IL-6 (P=0.02), and IL-15 (P=0.023) in serum collected immediately after exercise compared to serum collected at baseline. 

prostate cancerCancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by cardiovascular disease1. Most cancer patients will experience cancer- and treatment-related physiological and psychological side effects including undesirable alterations in body composition, increase in cardiometabolic biomarkers, and reductions in quality of life2. One of the hallmarks of cancer is the ability of cancer cells to evade detection by the immune system, which can in some cases stop the body from eliminating tumor cells3.

Exercise is an effective non-pharmacologic strategy to mitigate cancer-related treatment side effects and improve quality of life, cardiorespiratory fitness, and muscular strength4. Exercise induces physiologic adaptations such as changes in glucose metabolism, mitochondrial biogenesis, angiogenesis signaling pathways, and cytokine release5. Long-term application of high-intensity aerobic exercise may interfere with tumor growth via four main physiological pathways: tumor vascularization, cancer cell metabolism, myokine production, and immune function6.

Kim Jin-Soo et al. conducted a study to examine serum myokine levels before and after a single bout of high-intensity interval aerobic exercise in patients with advanced prostate cancer undergoing anti-androgen therapy and the tumor-suppressive effect of the collected serum. Subjects (n=9) included in the study were recruited from the INTERVAL-GAP 4 trial and were asked to complete two high-intensity interval aerobic exercise sessions consisting of a 5-minute warm-up at an intensity of 50-60% of maximum heart rate. Followed by 6 sets of 4 minutes of high intensity cycling at an intensity of 70-85% of maximum heart rate with 2-minute active recoveries at 50-65% of maximum heart rate between bouts, ending with a 5-minute cool down. Heart rate was recorded using a chest strap monitor every 2 minutes of the high intensity bouts and every 1 minute of the low-intensity bouts with rating of perceived exertion being collected at the same time points.

On the day of testing, participants abstained from food for 2-h before commencing. Blood samples were collected at baseline, immediately after (post), and 30 minutes after exercise cessation (post 30 minutes). Serum levels of SPARC, oncostatin M (OSM), IL-6, IL-15, decorin, irisin, and IGF-1 were analyzed using ELISA kits. Real-time cellular analysis was performed using the human PCa cell line, DU-145, and cell growth was assessed using a Real-Time Cellular Analysis (RTCA) system in the presence of collected human serum from each patient at three different collection time points.

Generalized estimating equation (GEE) linear regression models were utilized to analyze differences between repeated time points among subjects at each incubation hour. Cell Index values are presented with mean and standard error (SE). The mean age of the nine subjects was 67.8 ± 10.1 years. The mean relative VO2max was 24.1 ± 5.8 ml/kg/min (absolute VO2max; 2.43 ± 0.92 L/m), with a maximum heart rate of 159 ± 11 beats per minute. Significant findings of the study are as follows:

  • Post-analysis showed significant elevation of SPARC (19.9%, P = 0.048), OSM (11.5%, P = 0.001), IL-6 (10.2%, P = 0.02), and IL-15 (7.8%, P = 0.023) in serum collected immediately after exercise compared to serum collected at baseline with no difference between post 30 minutes and baseline.
  • Post-analysis revealed a significant reduction in 0-24 incubation hours AUC with serum obtained 30 minutes after exercise cessation compared to serum obtained before the exercise session (4.91%, P < 0.001).
  • A significant reduction was also observed in AUC for 0-48 and 0-72 incubation hours with the presence of serum collected immediately after exercise (0-48, 9.67%, P < 0.001; 0-72, 16.93%, P < 0.001; 0-72, 16.93%, P < 0.001) and 30 minutes after exercise cessation (0-48, 6.91%, P < 0.001; 0-72, 8.82%, P < 0.001) compared to serum obtained at baseline.

Significant findings of the study shows that high-intensity interval aerobic exercise significantly elevates serum OSM, IL-6, SPARC, and IL-15, suggesting an improved tumor suppressive effect for subjects with advanced prostate cancer. Study limitations include the small sample size, the lack of in-depth intercellular mechanistic measures to investigate signal pathways, and the inability to differentiate the effect of other physiological changes in the circulatory system.

Source: Kim, Jin-Soo, Dennis R. Taaffe, Daniel A. Galvão, Timothy D. Clay, Andrew D. Redfern, Nicolas H. Hart, Elin S. Gray et al. “Acute effect of high-intensity interval aerobic exercise on serum myokine levels and resulting tumour-suppressive effect in trained patients with advanced prostate cancer.” Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases (2022): 1-7.

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2022

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Posted February 22, 2022.

Taylor Woosley studied biology at Purdue University before becoming a 2016 graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a major in Writing. She currently resides in Glen Ellyn, IL.

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