Combined training-induced intracrine changes in the breast's tumor and tumor-adjacent tissue

Abstract

Breast cancer was the third most incident cancer in 2016 (1.7 million cases), being the most common cancer in 131 countries. This type of cancer is main cause of cancer death in women. Although treatment for breast cancer increases the survival rate, it has been shown that treatments induce decreases in skeletal and cardiac muscle mass. Aerobic and resistance training are the gold standard training protocol to overcome cardiac and skeletal muscle mass losses, and when performed together is called combined training (CT). Also, CT is an important inducer of inflammatory factors, numerous hormones and growth factors released by different organs in blood. Therefore, it is important to know how CT-induced blood changes affects the tumor-adjacent tissues and the tumor per se. Thus, steroid hormones and their relationship with tumor development and activity (intracrinology) has been investigated. As a result, CT seems to have a great potential to modulate the intracrine regulation in tumor cells and adjacent cells, modulating tumor activity. Purposes: To investigate the CT-induced intracrine regulations and steroid hormone changes in the tumor and tumor-adjacent tissues. Hypothesis: TC likely affects tumor and tumor-adjacent tissues intracrine regulation and hormone levels, modulating tumor development and activity. Methods: About 100 women with breast cancer indicated for neoadjuvant chemotherapy will be allocated to one of the following groups: CT before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (TC, n = 50), or control group (CG, n = 50). They will undergo CT for 8 weeks, two to three times a week. Maximal oxygen uptake test (VO2max), one-repetition maximal test (1- RM), Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), ELISA for hormonal concentration, immunohistochemistry for hormonal receptors and gene expression for steroidogenic enzymes are going to be proceeded before and after treatment. Perspectives: To advance the knowledge about the relationships between the CT effects on tumor and tumor-adjacent tissues intracrinology and hormonal regulation, and tumor activity. (AU)