Exercise ‘helps boost effects of chemotherapy’

A combination of exercise and chemotherapy can contribute to a more positive outcome for cancer patients than chemotherapy alone, according to a new study.

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania looked at the effects of common cancer drug doxorubicin in two groups of mice with melanoma, one of which underwent an exercise regime.

The researchers hoped to prove that exercise can reverse one of doxorubicin's side effects: damage to the patient's heart cells, which can contribute to heart failure in the long-term.

After the two week trial, this thesis proved inaccurate, with the exercised mice experiencing equivalent loss of heart function to the sedentary subjects.

However, the scientists were amazed to discover that the former group's tumours had shrunk at a much faster rate than those in their non-exercising counterparts.

"If exercise helps in this way, you could potentially use a smaller dose of the drug and get fewer side effects," speculated senior author Joseph Libonati.