Exercise motivates cell to react in a way to prevent bone cancer
The research team sought to recognize the mechanics involved in bone tissue and the cancer-protection process.
They showed for the first time that, following exercise, human bone cells prompt a series of events in the body linked to the cell cycle, DNA repair, and cancer including the 'P53' gene, which is a known tumor suppressor.
They also found that exercised bone cells secreted proteins that are responsible for ossification, the natural process of bone formation, and remodeling of the bones.
The researchers aren’t quite sure whether the process of new bone formation and remodeling as a result of exercise fully prevents the metastasis of cancer cells such as breast or prostate cancer or not.
Metastasis is when cancer cells break away from where they first formed, travel through the blood or lymph system, and form new tumors.
This same process could also contribute to the maintenance of bone mass and therefore slows the progression of osteoporosis.
While exercise is known for its regenerative and cancer-protective effects until now the base mechanisms for this concerning metastatic bone cancer and possibly other bone illnesses had not been established.