BACKGROUND: There is mixed evidence regarding the possible association between a history of stressful or traumatic life events and more rapid breast cancer progression. METHOD: Retrospective reports of past experiences of traumatic life events were assessed among 94 women with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer. A traumatic event assessment was conducted using the event-screening question from the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) module of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV-TR (SCID; 2002). Each reported event was judged by two independent raters to determine whether it met DSM-IV-TR PTSD A1 criteria for a traumatic event. Those events that did not meet such criteria were designated "stressful events." RESULTS: Nearly 42% of the women in the sample were judged to have experienced one or more traumatic events; 28.7% reported only stressful events. A Kruskal-Wallis test found significant differences in disease-free interval among the three groups [chi2 (2, N=94)=6.09, P<.05]. Planned comparisons revealed a significantly longer disease-free interval among women who had reported no traumatic or stressful life events (median=62 months) compared to those who had experienced one or more stressful or traumatic life events (combined median=31 months). CONCLUSIONS: A history of stressful or traumatic life events may reduce host resistance to tumor growth. These findings are consistent with a possible long-lasting effect of previous life stress on stress response systems such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
BACKGROUND: There is mixed evidence regarding the possible association between a history of stressful or traumatic life events and more rapid breast cancer progression. METHOD: Retrospective reports of past experiences of traumatic life events were assessed among 94 women with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer. A traumatic event assessment was conducted using the event-screening question from the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) module of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV-TR (SCID; 2002). Each reported event was judged by two independent raters to determine whether it met DSM-IV-TR PTSD A1 criteria for a traumatic event. Those events that did not meet such criteria were designated "stressful events." RESULTS: Nearly 42% of the women in the sample were judged to have experienced one or more traumatic events; 28.7% reported only stressful events. A Kruskal-Wallis test found significant differences in disease-free interval among the three groups [chi2 (2, N=94)=6.09, P<.05]. Planned comparisons revealed a significantly longer disease-free interval among women who had reported no traumatic or stressful life events (median=62 months) compared to those who had experienced one or more stressful or traumatic life events (combined median=31 months). CONCLUSIONS: A history of stressful or traumatic life events may reduce host resistance to tumor growth. These findings are consistent with a possible long-lasting effect of previous life stress on stress response systems such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
Authors: Eric W Fish; Dara Shahrokh; Rose Bagot; Christian Caldji; Timothy Bredy; Moshe Szyf; Michael J Meaney Journal: Ann N Y Acad Sci Date: 2004-12 Impact factor: 5.691
Authors: Yuri L Bunimovich; Anton A Keskinov; Galina V Shurin; Michael R Shurin Journal: Cancer Immunol Immunother Date: 2016-11-24 Impact factor: 6.968
Authors: Susan K Lutgendorf; Premal H Thaker; Jesusa M Arevalo; Michael J Goodheart; George M Slavich; Anil K Sood; Steve W Cole Journal: Cancer Date: 2017-11-07 Impact factor: 6.860