Cortisol Response in Breast Cancer: The Role of Physical Activity and Exercise

Chronic stress is a consistent sense of feeling pressured and overwhelmedfor a long period of time and it has been defined as a maladaptive state thatis associated with altered hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Thehyperactivity of the HPA axis is commonly assessed by cortisol levels.Physical activity (PA) and exercise have been demonstrated to regulatecortisol patterns in different healthy study populations, but also in BCpatients and survivors. The PA and exercise are related but have distinctconcepts that are commonly misused. Nowadays, the regular practice of PAand exercise has been widely recognized as one main strategy to managechronic stress and its related markers, like cortisol, remains elusive. In thepresent review, the authors focused on the evidence of the PA and exerciseon cortisol patterns of BC patients and survivors.