MODERATE EXERCISE TRAINING AND NATURAL-KILLER-CELL CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITYIN BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

Sixteen female breast cancer patients who had been diagnosed (3.0+/-1. 2 years previous to the study) and undergone surgery, chemotherapy, an d/or radiation treatment were randomly assigned to exercise and nonexe rcise groups. Pre- and post-study measurements were taken for aerobic performance, leg strength, and concentrations of circulating lymphocyt e subsets and natural killer cell cytotoxic activity (NKCA). Exercise training consisted of 60 minutes of supervised weight training and aer obic activity three times each week for eight weeks. Although subjects in the exercise groups demonstrated some modest improvement in the va rious aerobic and strength tests, NKCA and concentrations of circulati ng T and NK cells were not significantly altered relative to the nonex ercise group. This study suggests that moderate exercise over an eight -week period has no significant effect on the function of in vitro nat ural killer cells in breast cancer patients.