The Effect of Twelve-Week Concurrent Training on the Regulation of Inflammatory Markers in Postmenopausal Women Prone to Breast Cancer

The present study aimed to determine the effect of 12-week concurrent training on gene expression of some pro-inflammatory cytokines and to evaluate hormone levels of obese postmenopausal women.

In this quasi-experimental research, 30 sedentary and obese PW were recruited and randomly divided into Concurrent Training (CT, n=15) and Control (CG, n=15) groups. Participants of the experimental group took part in 12-week supervised intervention training for five days a week, including two sessions of 60-minute resistance training and three sessions of 30-minute aerobic training. Blood samples were taken from the volunteers to measure estradiol, free estradiol, and mRNA expression levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Quantitative gene expression was evaluated using the 2-∆∆ct method and REST software. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to check the normal distribution of the data, and repeated measurements analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were used to compare the groups at a significance level of α=0.05.

In response to the training protocol, the CT group experienced a reduction in fat mass (-9.6%; P<0.05) and an increase in lean body mass (2.4%; P<0.05). The Circulating levels of free Estradiol (−10.70%; P<0.05), and levels of gene expression of IL-6 (P=0.03) and TNF-α (P=0.000) significantly decreased in the CT group compared with the CG group. But there was no significant difference in Estradiol in the CT group compared with the CG group (P<0.05).

The concurrent training and exercise-induced fat mass loss seem to modify the sex hormones profile and levels of gene expression of IL-6 and TNF-α in PW Prone to breast cancer. Thus, this study provides additional evidence of the intricate interaction of inflammatory markers, adipose tissue, and muscle mass in PW Prone to breast cancer.