New York, NY (AHN) – The beneficial effect exercise has on cancer is due to increases in insulin-like binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), which blocks cell growth and induces cell death, according to the findings of an Australian study.
Insulin-like binding protein-3 inhibits another protein, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which blocks IGF-1’s proliferative effect on cell growth, Reuters reports, citing the study.
Dr. Andrew M.M. Haydon and colleagues at Manash Medical school in Melbourne held a study on 443 colon cancer patients that lasted over five years.
They found that, among participants who were physically active, an increase in IGFBP-3 was associated with a 48 percent reduction in deaths due to colon cancer. For those who were physically inactive, there was no association between IGF-1 or IGFBP-3 and colon cancer survival.
