#88 - Exercise preserves muscle and metabolism during cancer with Dr Lykke Sylow
Sep 29, 2024
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Dr. Lykke Sylow, an Associate Professor at The University of Copenhagen and a rising star in exercise metabolism, shares fascinating insights on how exercise influences cancer outcomes. She reveals that inactivity is a major risk factor for cancer, potentially more than obesity. Exercise not only reduces cancer risk but also enhances treatment efficacy, combats muscle loss during chemotherapy, and improves insulin sensitivity. The conversation emphasizes the pressing need for more research on how fitness impacts cancer recovery and prognosis.
Regular exercise significantly reduces the risk of developing cancer and improves outcomes and survival rates for diagnosed individuals.
Engaging in physical activity enhances insulin sensitivity, counteracting the insulin resistance often seen in cancer patients, which can improve metabolic health.
Exercise helps maintain muscle mass during cancer treatment, combating cancer cachexia and improving patients' overall resilience and quality of life.
Deep dives
Impact of Exercise on Cancer Risk and Prognosis
Exercise has a significant role in reducing the risk of developing cancer as well as improving outcomes for those diagnosed. Regular physical activity can lower the chances of recurrence in cancer survivors and is associated with improved survival rates overall. Strong evidence indicates that engaging in an active lifestyle can protect against up to 13 different types of cancer. Additionally, exercise may slow down the progression of cancer by reducing the likelihood of metastasis, showing a protective effect on health even after a cancer diagnosis.
Exercise and Insulin Sensitivity in Cancer Patients
Cancer patients often experience insulin resistance, which can complicate their metabolic health and energy use. This condition arises because tumors aggressively consume glucose, leading to reduced uptake by body tissues. Engaging in exercise can enhance insulin sensitivity, allowing for better glucose utilization by muscles and potentially starving tumors of energy. By doing so, exercise not only helps maintain metabolic control but also counters the adverse effects of insulin resistance that commonly accompany cancer.
Preserving Muscle Mass Through Exercise
One of the critical benefits of exercise for cancer patients is the maintenance of muscle mass, which often declines during treatment and leads to frailty. The condition known as cancer cachexia manifests as rapid loss of muscle mass even in patients without significant weight loss, negatively impacting their prognosis. Exercise helps mitigate muscle loss, offering protective benefits against treatment toxicity and enhancing patients' overall resilience. Regular physical activity is crucial for combating cachexia, thereby improving the quality of life for those undergoing cancer treatments.
Effects of Exercise During Cancer Treatment
Patients undergoing chemotherapy experience a range of side effects, including fatigue, nausea, and altered metabolic responses. Exercise has been shown to alleviate these symptoms, with studies indicating reduced levels of cancer-related fatigue among active individuals. Furthermore, physical activity can enhance immune function and might improve the body’s ability to tolerate chemotherapy, allowing for better treatment outcomes. These benefits highlight the importance of incorporating exercise into cancer care regimens to support recovery and health.
The Need for Integrated Exercise Programs in Oncology
Despite robust evidence supporting the benefits of exercise for cancer patients, systematic implementation of exercise programs in oncology settings remains limited. Current practices often prioritize nutritional support over physical activity, even though exercise has been shown to yield more substantial health benefits. Initiatives are emerging to promote exercise as a core component of cancer care, recognizing its role in enhancing treatment efficacy and patient well-being. The integration of structured exercise programs in hospitals could significantly improve the overall management of cancer and its effects on patient quality of life.
Dr Glenn McConell chats with Associate Professor Lykke Sylow from The University of Copenhagen. She is a rising star in exercise metabolism and in particular the effect of exercise on cancer. This is the second podcast episode on exercise and cancer (See Professor Kathryn Schmitz episode #9). Remarkably she said that if you are a non-smoker your biggest risk of getting cancer is inactivity. Not clear if this is independent of obesity etc. Can associated with a reduction of insulin sensitivity and also cachexia (with the loss of muscle mass is very important). The cancer itself may cause insulin resistance. Exercise can reduce the likelihood of getting cancer, improve the prognosis during cancer treatment and reduce the likely of getting cancer again. There is even evidence that exercise can improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy and reduce the extent of metastasis. Really remarkable stuff. A lot more research is needed to clarify these things. X: @lykkesylow 0:00. Introduction 2:40. Lykke is a rising star 3:59. Cancer and exercise overview 6:09. Wasting of muscle mass with cancer 7:00. Evidence that exercise reduces the risk of getting cancer 11:40. Inactivity / obesity and cancer 13:03. Glucose metabolism and cancer 15:20. Cancer cachexia 19:05. The cancer itself may cause insulin resistance 22:55. Cancer cachexia/ loss of muscle mass 29:30. When loss weight tend to lose muscle 30:30. Mechanisms of cancer cachexia 33:20. Pre cancer muscle mass/strength and survival 35:50. With cancer insulin resistance may come before cachexia 40:07. What do different cancers have different effects? 41:48. Exercise can improve tolerance to cancer treatment/fatigue 46:20. Does exercise reverse the insulin sensitivity with cancer 46:30. Exercise increases muscle glucose use during and after exercise 52:10. Exercise during chemotherapy treatment 54:55. What kind/type of exercise are we talking about? 1:01:20. Mechanisms/AMPK 1:03:25. Exercise reduces fatigue in cancer 1:04:13. Exercise may improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy 1:06:25. Exercise may reduce metastasis of cancer 1:08:30. Sex differences, cancer and exercise 1:12:20. Age, cancer and exercise 1:15:15. Availability of exercise in oncology departments 1:18:50. Diet vs exercise in cancer treatment 1:19:50. Strength vs endurance training with cancer 1:21:22. Takeaway messages 1:26:23. Outro Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all. The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research experience while at The University of Melbourne, Ball State University, Monash University, the University of Copenhagen and Victoria University. He has published over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and recently edited an Exercise Metabolism eBook written by world experts on 17 different topics (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-94305-9). Connect with Inside Exercise and Glenn McConell at: Twitter: @Inside_exercise and @GlennMcConell1 Instagram: insideexercise Facebook: Glenn McConell LinkedIn: Glenn McConell https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-mcconell-83475460 ResearchGate: Glenn McConell Email: glenn.mcconell@gmail.com Subscribe to Inside exercise: Spotify: shorturl.at/tyGHL Apple Podcasts: shorturl.at/oFQRU YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@insideexercise Anchor: https://anchor.fm/insideexercise Google Podcasts: shorturl.at/bfhHI Anchor: https://anchor.fm/insideexercise Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/4025218 Not medical advice
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