the effect of moderate-intensity aerobic training on serum levels of tnf-α and il-6 in rats undergoing radiotherapy

Background and aims: one of the main potential problems of radiotherapy (rt) in breast cancer is the increase in treatment-related inflammation. this study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic training (at) on serum levels of tumor necrosis factor α (tnf-α) and interleukin-6 (il-6) in rats undergoing rt. materials and methods: in this experimental study, 32 male rats were randomly divided into four groups of eight members including (1) healthy control (c), (2) at, (3) rt, and (4) at + rt groups. rats were first anesthetized with ketamine-xylazine solution (k, 60-90 kg/mg; z, 6-10 kg/mg) and then located on a plexiglas plate with a thickness of 1 cm. photon beam rt was performed using x-rays with a dose of 11 gy from an elekta compact linear accelerator (elekta compact 6-mv china). at program was performed for eight weeks, five days a week, and one session a day for 60 minutes (70-75% of vo2max). afterwards, one-way anova was run to examine the research variables. results: according to the results, tnf-α was significantly higher in the rt group compared to the c group (p = 0.003), whereas il-6 levels were significantly lower in the at + rt group compared to the rt group (p = 0.001) and the c group (p = 0.027). further, the levels of this cytokine were significantly lower in the at group compared to the rt group (p = 0.006) and similarly in the rt group compared to the c group (p = 0.03). conclusion: rt led to an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines; however, performing at could only significantly reduce the il-6 levels.