The effects of physical exercise on tumor vasculature: Systematic review and meta-analysis

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Mário Esteves (Author) Other; Mariana P. Monteiro (Author) Other; José Alberto Duarte (Author) FADEUP

Journal

Title: International Journal of Sports Medicine

Vol. 42 No. 14

Pages: 1237-1249

ISSN: 0172-4622

Publisher: Thieme

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Social sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00V-88X

DOI: 10.1055/a-1533-1876

Abstract (EN): A wealth of evidence supports an association between physical exercise, decreased tumor growth rate, and reduced risk of cancer mortality. In this context, the tumor vascular microenvironment may play a key role in modulating tumor biologic behavior. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the evidence regarding the effects of physical exercise on tumor vasculature in pre-clinical studies. We performed a computerized research on the PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCO databases to identify pre-clinical studies that evaluated the effect of physical exercise on tumor vascular outcomes. Mean differences were calculated through a random effects model. The present systematic review included 13 studies involving 373 animals. From these, 11 studies evaluated chronic intratumoral vascular adaptations and 2 studies assessed the acute intratumoral vascular adaptations to physical exercise. The chronic intratumoral vascular adaptations resulted in higher tumor microvessel density in 4 studies, increased tumor perfusion in 2 studies, and reduced intratumoral hypoxia in 3 studies. Quantitatively, regular physical exercise induced an increased tumor vascularization of 2.13 [1.07, 3.20] (p<0.0001). The acute intratumoral vascular adaptations included increased vascular conductance and reduced vascular resistance, which improved tumor perfusion and attenuated intratumoral hypoxia. In pre-clinical studies, physical exercise seems to improve tumor vascularization.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 13