Doctors and researchers have recently noted a trend that stress in treated breast cancer patients tends to correlate with a greater re-occurrence of cancer, which often spreads to the bones and lungs, and with higher rates of death. Now, new research published today (July 17) in PLoS Biology provides a mechanistic link between stress and metastasis: activation of the sympathetic nervous system in mice, a consequence of chronic stress and depression, is shown to promote the colonization of breast cancer cells in bone.
"[The authors] really beautifully put the whole picture together," said Laurie McCauley, who studies the hormonal controls of bone remodelling at the University of Michigan. In addition to demonstrating the involvement of the sympathetic nervous system, the researchers succeeded in reducing metastasis by blocking the effects of stress, pointing to new directions for drug therapies, though they note the immediate implication is regarding the importance of patients' ...
