A new cancer-fighting weapon has been discovered. It's made in your gut.

Exercise vs. Cancer: Surprising Effects of Exercise Discovered

Dr. Marlies Meisel from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania (USA) and her colleagues induced an aggressive form of melanoma in two groups of mice. One group participated in a four-week exercise program, while the other followed the mouse equivalent of a sedentary lifestyle.

As expected, the exercised mice had smaller tumors and improved survival rates . However, in animals treated with antibiotics or kept completely germ-free, exercise proved to have no benefit. This suggests that microorganisms and the metabolites they produce are responsible for the beneficial effects of exercise.

Metabolism, or the transformation of matter, is the sum of biochemical processes occurring in the body's cells, which allow for the conversion of nutrients into the energy needed for life. The metabolism of even a simple bacterium involves numerous processes, and the intestines are home to diverse species of microorganisms. The gut microbiome produces thousands of metabolites.

Therefore, the researchers used machine learning to sift through potentially beneficial molecules. Formate emerged as the leading candidate metabolite. This bacterial metabolite, whose levels increase with exercise, enhances the potential of CD8+ T cells in the immune system, which are crucial for fighting cancer.

The next step was to study 19 people with advanced melanoma. Patients with high formate levels had longer progression-free survival than those with low formate levels .

Dr. Maisel and her team are currently investigating whether exercise-induced changes in the gut microbiome could impact other health conditions.

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