According to two professors at Penn's School of Medicine, more exercise may reduce a woman's risk of developing breast cancer - and, in a new study, they plan to test this hypothesis.
Led by Epidemiology professor Kathryn Schmitz and Hematology/Oncology professor Susan Domchek, the study will take about four years to complete.
According to Schmitz, highly-trained female athletes have a smaller chance of suffering from breast cancer because they have lower estrogen levels than average women.
She added that previous research on the topic, including a study by Epidemiology professor Tim Rebbeck, shows that lower estrogen levels translate to a lower chance of developing the disease.
"Exercise is a wonderful intervention due to its numerous health benefits," Domchek said in a press release. "However, it is important for us to quantify the amount of exercise needed and the potential benefits such exercise might provide."
For about four years, Schmitz's team will examine 160 women aged 18 to 40 who have a high risk of getting breast cancer based on their family history.
The team will divide the women into three randomized groups. For about seven months, they will be provided with an in-home treadmill.
The first group will exercise for 150 minutes each week. The second group will complete 300 minutes of exercise per week.
The last group, as the control group, will continue its daily routine during the study.
Schmitz's team will then receive daily urine samples from each woman, which will be used to measure estrogen levels.
They will also measure each woman's body composition and will give breast MRIs to each participant to examine changes in the density of her breast tissue.
According to Schmitz, either drugs or surgery can be used as treatment for breast cancer, but patients cannot use those methods until their risk is high enough.
The study will be funded by the National Cancer Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
Schmitz said they are still recruiting women to participate in the study. Those interested, she added, should visit the study's Web site at bmic.upenn.edu/wiser.
"One thing I've learned through the recruiting process for this study was that many young women knew less than I expected about breast-cancer risk," Schmitz said.
"I hope that young women participating in this study will raise their awareness about breast cancer through the recruiting Web site and participation," she added.
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