Abstract

Background and Objectives: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. Cardiovascular disease is one of the most important complications of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of six weeks of swimming on malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in the heart tissue of mice with breast cancer. Method: Breast cancer was induced in 30 female Balb/c mice (6-8 weeks old, weighing 150-200 g) by tumor transplantation. The tumor site was examined every day for the formation or absence of tumor. After becoming familiar with the laboratory environment and swimming pool, the subjects were randomly divided into three equal groups: 1. healthy control, 2. cancer control, and 3. swimming-cancer. The swimming group performed swimming training 60 minutes/day, five days a week, for six weeks. After the intervention, the levels of SOD and MDA in the heart tissue samples were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 16) using independent t-test at significance of 0.05. Results: The results showed that induction of breast cancer was accompanied by a significant increase in MDA and a significant decrease in SOD in the heart tissue of mice. Participation in the six-week swimming significantly reversed these effects. Conclusion: Swimming could have beneficial effects in improving oxidative factors in breast cancer patients.

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