Stress and Cancer Progression

"The influence of psychosocial factors on the development and progression
of cancer has been a longstanding hypothesis since ancient times. In fact,
epidemiological and clinical studies over the past 30 years have provided
strong evidence for links between chronic stress, depression and social
isolation and cancer progression."

There are a lot of papers concerning stress and cancer progression. Here
are a few:

/integrativeoncology-essentials.com/2012/04/anticancer-lifestyle-stress-reduction-101/

/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037818/

/www.cancercommons.org/knowledge-blog/fueling-prostate-cancer-with-stress/

/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3561807/


A note concerning the mice involved in the last paper. These are not the
same mice that were involved with the recent thread on debulking. As a rule,
I will not site papers that "reuse" mice from past experimentation. Unless,
of course, such mice support my theories on diet and cancer progression.

Cashless

oh no.
First I was stressed out about having cancer
and now I have cancer because I was stressed out.

WHERE DOES IT END?
arrrrgggggggggg!!!

I love InTheShop's post. If we got cancer because we were stressed, then getting cancer sure ain't gonna help that stress.

I don't believe that the stress itself causes cancer or influence progression. But people under stress often develop "bad behaviors", such as no exercise, smoking, overeating, drinking too much alcohol, doing drugs etc, etc, which increase a the risk for cancer and speed up progression. Our bodies can handle stress quite well but not "bad behavior".

I have no clue whether stress influences oncogenisis or progression. But one thing I know for sure....STRESS AINT A GOOD THING FOR HEALTH IN GENERAL.

Stress is bad for lots of things.

But I don't believe for a moment that it causes cancer or its progression

Purgatory said...
Stress is bad for lots of things.

But I don't believe for a moment that it causes cancer or its progression

I'll vote for that!

On the other hand, I think I read that stress caused memory loss, but I forgot where. . .

Yes, I've been told that. But while I can quit dairy I can't quit stress.

Next informal poll question:

(2) Did you know that everybody has various cancer cells (abnormal cells) in their body all the time which their immune system continuously detects and destroys?

This thread is causing me stress.....

No to worry guys, the inflammation to your hearts from all that unnecessary stress will probably have you (us) pushing up daisies well before PCa can deliver a final blow.

Some laboratory studies and clinical research had suggested that there may be an association between stress and cancer, but the findings from this retrospective study demonstrate no such link.

/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25957083

"The association between stress and cancer incidence has been studied for more than seven decades. Despite plausible biological mechanisms and evidence from laboratory studies, findings from clinical research are conflicting. The objective of this study was to examine the association between PTSD and various cancer outcomes. This nation-wide cohort study included all Danish-born residents of Denmark from 1995 to 2011. The exposure was PTSD diagnoses (n = 4131). The main outcomes were cancer diagnoses including: (1) all malignant neoplasms; (2) hematologic malignancies; (3) immune-related cancers; (4) smoking- and alcohol-related cancers; (5) cancers at all other sites. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated. Null associations were found between PTSD and nearly all cancer diagnoses examined, both overall [SIR for all cancers = 1.0, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.88, 1.2] and in analyses stratified by gender, age, substance abuse history and time since PTSD diagnosis. This study is the most comprehensive examination to date of PTSD as a predictor of many cancer types. Our data show no evidence of an association between PTSD and cancer in this nationwide cohort."

Has anyone actually seen any solid scientific evidence that stress causes cancer? Internet is full of myths.

Gemlin said...

Has anyone actually seen any solid scientific evidence that stress causes cancer? Internet is full of myths.

Sorry to say that your statement applies to everything we read about prostate cancer and all cancers. Solid scientific evidence is both rare, and a moving target.

I trust you're not suggesting that obsessive stress is a good thing. Stress can be the kiss of death or the spice of life depending on how we handle it. Managing it well can make us sharper, more productive and happier, but handling it poorly can hurt or even kill us in a number of ways. Just don't let it overwhelm you, and remember that the absence of stress symptoms doesn't mean the absence of stress.

Finally, nobody has "any solid scientific evidence" of what causes, or how to really cure, cancer....

That's all I can come up with