Researchers Tracked Aging For A Year After Breast Cancer — This Stood Out
Breast cancer treatment can leave you feeling like your body has aged faster than expected. Brain fog, trouble concentrating, and other lingering changes can make the post-treatment years feel different from what you imagined.
One possible piece of the puzzle is biological aging, which looks at how quickly your body is aging based on changes happening inside your cells.
In a recent study1 of breast cancer survivors, researchers tracked biological aging for a year to see whether exercise could help slow the process.
About the study
The study followed 124 breast cancer survivors who were within five years of diagnosis.
Participants were randomly assigned to either a 12-month exercise program with fitness trackers and health coaching or a health and wellness group that received coaching on topics such as stress management and nutrition.
Researchers measured biological aging, physical activity, and cognitive function throughout the year.
To estimate biological age, they used epigenetic clocks, which look at chemical changes on DNA that help control how genes work. These patterns can give researchers an estimate of how old a person's cells appear compared with their actual age.
Exercise may have slowed biological aging
The two groups showed different patterns of biological aging during the study.
During the first six months, biological age in the health and wellness group increased at about twice the pace of chronological age. In the exercise group, biological age remained relatively stable.
The key finding wasn't whether biological age matched someone's actual age. It was how quickly that measure changed over time. In this study, the exercise group showed fewer age-related changes over the year than the health and wellness group.
That doesn't mean exercise made participants biologically younger. Rather, the findings suggest regular movement may help slow some of the cellular changes associated with aging after breast cancer treatment.
There may be a brain health connection
The researchers also found that faster biological aging was linked to poorer attention and self-reported cognitive function.
This pattern appeared in the health and wellness group, but not in the exercise group.
That doesn't prove exercise prevented cognitive changes, but it suggests regular movement may help buffer some processes associated with faster biological aging.
The researchers also found changes in genes related to BDNF, a protein that supports the growth and communication of brain cells, in the exercise group.
This could be one way exercise affects brain health, but larger studies are needed to determine whether it explains the cognitive findings. This pattern appeared in the health and wellness group, but not in the exercise group.
That doesn't prove exercise prevented cognitive changes, but it suggests regular movement may help buffer some processes associated with faster biological aging.
The researchers also found changes in genes related to BDNF, a protein that supports the growth and communication of brain cells, in the exercise group.
This could be one way exercise affects brain health, but larger studies are needed to determine whether it explains the cognitive findings.
How to build exercise into survivorship
If you're ready to add more movement after breast cancer treatment, the study offers a few practical starting points:
- Check with your care team: Ask your oncology team what types and intensities of exercise fit your health and recovery, especially if you're still in treatment or within the first few years after diagnosis.
- Build up gradually: If you've been cleared to exercise, work toward regular moderate-to-vigorous activity at a pace that feels appropriate for your current fitness level.
- Use some accountability: The exercise program included fitness trackers and health coaching, so a wearable, trainer, or regular check-in with an accountability partner could help you stay on track.
The takeaway
A year of structured exercise was linked to slower biological aging in breast cancer survivors.
The findings also hint at a connection between movement, biological aging, and cognitive function, though more research is needed to determine whether exercise directly causes these changes.
