Psychological Stress and Cancer

Psychological stress  affects the body in many ways. The complex relationship between physical and psychological health is not well understood. Cancer experts from Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou know well that psychological stress can affect the immune system, decrease the body’s defense ability against infection and diseases (including cancer)

         What is psychological stress?

Psychological stress refers to the emotional and physiological reactions experienced when an individual confronts a situation in which the demands go beyond their coping resources. Examples of stressful situations are marital problems, death of a loved one, abuse, health problems, and financial crises. 

            How does stress affect the body?  

 

The body responds to stress by releasing stress hormones, such as epinephrine (also called adrenaline) and cortisol (also called hydrocortisone). The body produces these stress hormones to help a person react to a situation with more speed and strength. Stress hormones increase blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels.

Stress can increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, depression, and various other illnesses, even cancer in a chronic manner.  

          Can stress increase a person’s risk of developing cancer? 

 

Cancer experts from Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou said that some studies have indicated an indirect relationship between stress and certain types of virus-related cancers. Evidence from both animal and human studies suggests that chronic stress weakens a person’s immune system, which in turn may affect the incidence of virus-associated cancers, such as Kaposi sarcoma and some lymphomas.

More recent research with animal models (animals with a disease that is similar to or the same as in humans) suggests that the body’s neuroendocrine response (release of hormones into the blood in response to stimulation of the nervous system) can directly alter important processes in cells that help protect against the formation of cancer, such as DNA repair and the regulation of cell growth. 

 

    How does stress affect people who have cancer?

 

Studies have indicated that stress can affect the growth and spread of cancer, but the precise biological mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood. Scientists have suggested that the effects of stress on the immune system may in turn affect the growth of some tumors. However, recent research using animal models indicates that the body’s release of stress hormones can affect cancer cell functions directly. 

A review of studies that evaluated psychological factors and outcome in cancer patients suggests an association between certain psychological factors, such as feeling helpless or suppressing negative emotions, and the growth or spread of cancer, although this relationship was not consistently seen in all studies. In general, stronger relationships have been found between psychological factors and cancer growth and spread than between psychological factors and cancer development.