Stress affects breast cancer aggressiveness

Some health behaviors or lifestyles, such as the tobacco , the alcohol , inadequate eating patterns, the refusal of medical treatments, among others, are for many people a way to get the stress ; however, those who suffer Cancer can be affected at the beginning or course of the disease, generating certain biological changes.

The stress caused by the fear , the anxiety and the isolation can affect the aggressiveness of the breast cancer , according to a study that indicates that Hispanic and the African-American they suffer more that psychosocial stress .


According to information from EFE , the doctor Garth Rauscher , associate professor of the division of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois , in Chicago, led the research, presented at the annual conference of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) dedicated to analyzing the impact of Cancer to minorities.

After diagnosis, it was found that patients with breast cancer African American and Hispanic women reported higher levels ofstress than whites, and that this is associated with the aggressiveness of tumor .

The researcher warned that the levels of stress of the patients were examined two or three months after diagnosis. The study included 989 patients with breast cancer They were recently diagnosed, of which 411 were non-Hispanic blacks, 397 were non-Hispanic white, and 181 were Hispanic.


The results showed that the scores of psychosocial stress were higher for Hispanic and African-American patients compared to white; However, Raucscher says that "it is not clear what is driving this partnership. stress in the life of these patients will influence the aggressiveness of tumor ".


On the other hand, the doctor pointed out that being diagnosed with a tumor more aggressive, with a more worrisome diagnosis and a more stressful treatment, could influence the reports of stress .

In addition, he indicated that another possibility could be a combination of both, although he stressed the need to continue research in this regard.


Video Medicine: Insidermedicine In 60 - September 19, 2011 (March 2024).