Even a short session of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can slow the growth of colon cancer cells or even kill them off completely.
These positives were seen after just one exercise session, although the colon cancer patients went on to complete 12 HIIT sessions over a month.
Even after the first session, blood samples showed an increase in inflammation, which suggested the cancer cells were being killed off, say researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Although earlier studies have shown that intensive exercise can slow the growth of cancer cells, the researchers were surprised to see it was also reducing the number of cancer cells, suggesting they were being killed off.
(Source: Journal of Physiology, 2019; doi: 10.1113/JP277648)
