Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41331388›Full record

ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2025

Endocannabinoid system and mood responses to acute aerobic exercise in adult cancer patients versus healthy controls: a pilot study.

Birinder S Cheema, Mitchell Low, Shelley Kay, Justine Stehn, Damian Hall, Abha Gourshettiwar, Sara Wahlroos, Michelle Harrison, Judith Lacey

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Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Birinder S CheemaSchool of Health Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia. B.Cheema@westernsydney.edu.au.
Mitchell LowNational Institute of Complementary Medicine, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
Shelley KayDepartment of Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia.
Justine StehnDepartment of Supportive Care and Integrative Oncology, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia.
Damian HallNational Institute of Complementary Medicine, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
Abha GourshettiwarSchool of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
Sara WahlroosDepartment of Medical Oncology, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia.
Michelle HarrisonDepartment of Medical Oncology, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia.
Judith LaceyNational Institute of Complementary Medicine, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo investigate the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and affective state responses to acute aerobic exercise in adult cancer patients versus their healthy peers.

methodsParticipants engaged in 30 min of quiet rest followed by 30 min of exercise. Exercise involved 5-min warm-up/cool-down procedures and 20 min of moderate-intensity training (64-76% of age-predicted maximal heart rate) on a treadmill or cycle. Blood samples and 10 Visual Analog Scales (VAS) were collected before and after each condition. Participants were also asked after exercise: 'Did you experience a Runner's high'. Blood samples were analysed for endocannabinoids: N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA; anandamide), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and 1-arachidonoylglycerol (1-AG), and endocannabinoid-like lipid mediators: palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and stearoylethanolamide (SEA).

resultsCancer patients had lower circulating AEA, OEA and log SEA versus controls across all timepoints (all p < 0.06). In the total cohort, exercise increased AEA, log 1-AG, OEA, PEA and log SEA (all p = 0.05) while log 2-AG did not change. Of 10 VAS, only Happiness increased with exercise in the total cohort (p = 0.02). There were no group x time effects or associations between ECS and VAS responses to exercise. Five patients per group (50%) reported experiencing a Runner's high.

conclusionsExercise increased endocannabinoids and endocannabinoid-like lipid mediators in the total cohort. However, cancer patients exhibited lower AEA, OEA and SEA concentrations versus their peers, indicating potential ECS dysfunction. Additional research is required to investigate the effect of various modalities and dosages of exercise on ECS markers and the clinical interpretation of these adaptations across a range of cancer populations.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry #: ACTRN12623000193673.

Indexed as

AffectEndocannabinoidsExerciseNeoplasmsAdultAgedArachidonic AcidsCase-Control StudiesEthanolaminesFemaleGlyceridesHumansMaleMiddle AgedOleic AcidsPilot ProjectsanandamideArachidonic AcidsEndocannabinoidsEthanolaminesGlyceridesOleic AcidsoleoylethanolamidePolyunsaturated AlkamidesCannabisExercise physiologistHealthOncologyQuality of life, rehabilitation, therapy, trainingRunner’s high

Identifiers

PMID41331388

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.