The Effects of Six Weeks of Aerobic Training on the Tumor Volume and Oncostatin-M Serum Level in Mice with Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a major health concern in women, but it seems that exercise plays an important role in controlling it. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the effects of six weeks of aerobic training on the tumor volume and oncostatin-M serum level in mice with breast cancer.
This research was an experimental study. For this purpose, 16 BALB/c mice, after being familiarized with the environment, were injected with estrogen receptor-dependent breast cancer cells (MC4-L2 cell line) and then, were randomly divided into two groups: control (n=8) and exercise group (n=8). The exercise group performed 5 days a week incremental aerobic training for 6 weeks (with speed of 22-18 meters per second, equivalent to 55 to 70 percent of aerobic capacity in mice), and the control group did not perform any aerobic activity. Finally, the mice were sacrificed, and serum and tumor tissue were used to measure the serum and tissue levels of oncostatin-M. Statistical analysis was done using independent t-test.
Significant differences were observed between the exercise and control groups in terms of the amount of oncostatin-M in the tumor (p=0.001), and serum (p=0.001). A significant increase was observed in oncostatin-M serum levels in the exercise group compared to the control goup (p=0.001). The independent t-test results for tumor volume showed its significant reduction in the exercise group (p=0.001).
Aerobic exercise can slow down the process of tumor growth, and one of its mechanisms is increasing oncostatin-M in the active muscles and seeping it into the serum. The reason for this process can be related to the fact that oncostatin-M inhibits the growth of cancer cells.