Stress and cancer. Part II: Therapeutic implications for oncology

Boris Mravec; Miroslav Tibensky; Lubica Horvathova

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2020.577312

Stress and cancer. Part II: Therapeutic implications for oncology

J Neuroimmunol. 2020 Jul 3:346:577312. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2020.577312. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Boris Mravec¹, Miroslav Tibensky², Lubica Horvathova³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia; Biomedical Research Center, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia. Electronic address: boris.mravec@fmed.uniba.sk.
² Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia.
³ Biomedical Research Center, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia.

PMID: 32652364
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2020.577312

Abstract

Accumulated evidence has confirmed the ability of stress to promote the induction and progression of cancer (for review see Stress and cancer. Part I: Mechanisms mediating the effect of stressors on cancer). In support of this, data from clinical trials utilizing approaches that reduce stress-related signaling have shown prolonged survival of cancer patients. Therefore, the question has arisen as to how we can utilize this knowledge in the daily treatment of cancer patients. The main aim of this review is to critically analyze data from studies utilizing psychotherapy or treatment by β-blockers on the survival of cancer patients. Because these approaches, especially treatment by β-blockers, have been routinely used in clinical practice for decades in the treatment of non-cancer patients, their wider introduction into oncology might be realized in the near future.

Keywords: Cancer; Cortisol; Epinephrine; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis; Neurobiology of cancer; Norepinephrine; Psychoneuroimmunology; Stress; Sympathoadrenal system; β-blockers.

Publication types

Review