MONDAY, Sept. 25, 2023 (HealthDay News) — An exercise intervention has biological effects on the immune system among patients with Lynch syndrome (LS), according to a study published online Sept. 19 in Clinical Cancer Research.

Nan Deng, from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues examined the impact of a 12-month aerobic exercise cycling intervention in the biology of the immune system in 21 LS patients. The effects of the exercise program that included cycling classes three times per week for 45 minutes were examined on cardiorespiratory fitness, circulating and colorectal-tissue biomarkers, gene expression, and spatial transcriptomics.

The researchers found that the primary outcome of the exercise intervention was a significant increase in oxygen consumption, while the secondary outcomes included decreases in inflammatory markers (prostaglandin E) in the colon and blood in the exercise versus usual care group. The exercise group also had an increase in the colonic mucosa levels of natural killer and CD8+ T cells in gene expression profiling and spatial transcriptomics on available colon biopsies, which were confirmed by immunohistochemical studies.

“It can be difficult for patients to commit to taking a pill,” lead author Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez, M.D., Ph.D., also from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, said in a statement. “If we are able to validate the preventive benefits of this approach in future studies, we hope to offer a ‘lifestyle prescription’ and give LS patients a new way to possibly lower their cancer risk over time.”

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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