Prostate cancer is one of the main diseases that affects men over 50 in the world and Colombia is no exception.
According to the World Health Organization’s Global Cancer Observatory, In Colombia, more than 15,000 cases are diagnosed each year and around 4,000 men die from this type of cancer.
(Keep reading: Know the symptoms of prostate cancer | find out in time)
This type of cancer occurs when cells begin to grow in an uncontrolled and malignant way in the tissues of the prostate. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located between the bladder and the male reproductive organ. It produces seminal fluid that protects and nourishes the sperm and is expelled with ejaculation.
According to the American Cancer Society, risk factors, which cannot be controlled, are primarily associated with age, race, and family history. But there are also those factors that can be modified such as: smoking, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, deficient diet in vitamins and nutrients, excessive alcohol consumption, infections or inflammation of the prostate.
In this regard, a recent study carried out by the University of California, the Edith Cowan University of Australia, the University of Western Australia, the University of Minnesota and the Université de Montréal, shows that the practice of aerobic exercise with high-intensity intervals in patients with prostate cancer it can affect the growth of tumors.
(Besides: Prostate cancer: these are the cases registered in Colombia)
The study, conducted by exercise medicine experts and urologists, seems to demonstrate the fundamental role played by myokines – proteins that are released by muscle cells during exercise – in minimizing tumor growth, fighting cancer cells and stimulating immune processes in the body.
The exercise used for the study was the high-intensity exercise bike. To test the results, during the investigation, nine patients performed 34 minutes of a session of this exercise. Blood was collected immediately before and 30 minutes after the practice.
“This work supports an acute myokine response to exercise in patients with advanced cancer and argues that serum from these patients after acute exercise has a growth-suppressive effect,” said study participant Stacey A. Kenfiel, M.D.