As of: March 15, 2024, 8:30 p.m
By: Carina Blumenroth
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It is well known that stress is harmful to health.
However, it can also have an impact on metastases in cancer.
What researchers discovered.
Cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal problems or sleep disorders can arise from chronic stress.
But not only these health consequences are possible.
It is also conceivable that stress has an impact on cancer, metastasis formation and chances of survival.
This is based on research by an international team.
How exactly stress affects you and what treatment options could arise from it.
Chronic stress affects cancer?
Chronic stress can have a negative impact on the formation of metastases and thus on the chances of survival of cancer patients.
This is shown by a current study based on experiments with mice.
(Symbolic image) © Unai Huizi/Imagebroker/Imago
A research team at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories (CSHL) in New York has investigated how chronic stress affects cancer.
They found the following: "We show that chronic stress increases lung metastasis of disseminated cancer cells in mice two to four times," says the introduction to the study "Chronic stress increases metastasis through neutrophilic changes in the microenvironment" .
The results currently relate to experiments with mice suffering from cancer.
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Another study shows that financial stress can promote diabetes and heart attacks.
Sticky nets promote the formation of metastases
“Stress is something we can’t really avoid in cancer patients.
You can imagine that after a diagnosis you can't stop thinking about the illness, the insurance or the family.
“It is therefore particularly important to understand how stress affects us,” says study participant Xue-Yan He in a statement from the
CSHL
.
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According to research, chronic stress produces certain hormones that can be detected in high concentrations in the blood.
These glucocorticoids stimulate immune cells of the neutrophil granulocyte type to form net-like and sticky structures (NET), the
Tagesspiegel
informs .
This is actually not a problem, because the researchers write on
CSHL
: “Normally they can defend us against invading microorganisms.
However, in cancer cases, NETs create a metastasis-friendly environment.”
For example, cancer cells can get caught on the net and therefore settle elsewhere more easily.
What approaches arise from this?
The team conducted several different experiments showing that glucocorticoids trigger the stress response.
Nevertheless, healthy mice were exposed to chronic stress, which showed a surprisingly similar change in lung tissue due to NET formation: "It practically prepares their tissue to get cancer," said study leader Mikala Egeblad.
The researchers conclude that reducing stress should play a role in both cancer treatment and prevention.
For example, there could be drugs that prevent the formation of NETs, which could slow down metastasis.
How to prevent stress
Probably no one can completely free themselves from stress, but everyone can do a little something to reduce or eliminate stress.
This can be done, among other things, with exercise and sport, but relaxation techniques and sufficient sleep can also help.
In addition, you should pay attention to a healthy diet.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It in no way replaces a visit to the doctor. Our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about medical conditions.