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Effects of exercise on immune cells with tumor-specific activity in breast cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Exercise is effective for improving the physical and psychological health of breast cancer patients. However, there is still controversy around its role on the immune system. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis is aimed to evaluate the effect of chronic exercise on the number and activity of the immune cells that can contribute to anti-tumor immune responses, such as natural killers (NK) cells, CD + 4, or CD + 8. The main hypothesis of this study was that exercise could improve the immune system or, at least, there will not be a reduction in the number or activity of immune cells because of exercise. The search was conducted in the PubMed and Web of Science databases. Out of 244 studies reviewed, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies included in the meta-analyses showed mixed results and no significant (p > 0.05) positive or negative effects of exercise interventions in women with breast cancer. Therefore, the current evidence indicates that exercise does not significantly improve or reduce the immune system; thus, the prescription of exercise must not be discouraged due to the effects on the number and activity of immune system cells, but should be recommended due to the well-known benefits in quality of life, physical function or fatigue, and the absence of negative effects on the immune system. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effects according to the type of exercise, the type of cancer, or the timing of the intervention.

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Data availability

The data that support the study findings are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Sport Studies, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28043 Fuenlabrada, Spain and GO fit LAB, Ingesport, 28003, Madrid, Spain

    Ana Myriam Lavín-Pérez

  2. Centre for Sport Studies, Rey Juan Carlos University, Fuenlabrada, 28043, Spain

    Daniel Collado-Mateo

  3. Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, 10600, Iran

    Shaghayegh Abbasi

  4. Federal Institute of Sudeste of Minas Gerais, Rio Pomba, 36180-000, Brazil

    João B Ferreira-Júnior

  5. Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, 10600, Iran

    Amir Hossein Ahmadi Hekmatikar

Authors
  1. Ana Myriam Lavín-Pérez
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  2. Daniel Collado-Mateo
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  3. Shaghayegh Abbasi
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  4. João B Ferreira-Júnior
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  5. Amir Hossein Ahmadi Hekmatikar
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Contributions

Idea, conceptualization, project administration, and editing, A.A.H.; writing—original draft preparation, A.A.H., SH.A., and J.B.F.J.; analysis and editing, A.M.L.P. and D.C.M. Authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Daniel Collado-Mateo or Amir Hossein Ahmadi Hekmatikar.

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Highlights

• There is large controversy around the effects of exercise on the number and activity of immune cells.

• Meta-analyses results showed mixed results and no significant positive or negative effects of exercise interventions on the number and activity of immune cells in women with breast cancer.

• The prescription of exercise must not be discouraged due to the effects on the number and activity of immune system cells.

• Participant’s adherence to exercise must be taken into account in exercise interventions in breast cancer patients.

• Conducting more research studies in this area could lead to the development of exercise immunology during breast cancer treatment and survivorship.

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Lavín-Pérez, A.M., Collado-Mateo, D., Abbasi, S. et al. Effects of exercise on immune cells with tumor-specific activity in breast cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Support Care Cancer 31, 507 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-023-07968-0

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