Introduction:  Breast cancer and its treatment, especially chemotherapy, are often linked to increased systemic inflammation and alterations in circulating cytokine levels, which may adversely affect patients’ quality of life and survival outcomes. The present systematic review was conducted to investigate the current evidence on the effects of aerobic exercise on inflammatory markers in Iranian female breast cancer survivors.
Materials & Methods: This systematic review included data from four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving breast cancer patients and survivors (during or after treatment). Exercise interventions included 8–12 weeks of MICT and HIIT protocols performed three sessions per week. The principal findings were alterations in inflammatory markers.
Results: The results showed that aerobic exercise interventions improved inflammatory status in three out of four studies included. Interventions of 8–12 weeks, especially HIIT, were associated with significant reductions in pro-inflammatory markers, such as TNF-α and IL-6, and increases in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Inflammatory ratios such as TNF-a/IL--10 also showed greater improvement with HIIT than with MICT. However, one study (Isanejad et al.) found no significant differences in IL-6, TNF-α, and IL10 levels between exercise and control groups despite cardiorespiratory fitness improvement.
Conclusion: Taken together, the current evidence suggests that aerobic exercise, particularly HIIT, may be a useful non-pharmacological strategy to reduce systemic inflammation in breast cancer survivors. However, the differences between the findings support the hypothesis that baseline inflammatory status, use of hormone therapy and individual characteristics might modulate inflammatory responses to exercise.