Chronic stress and ovarian cancer
Last week I touched base on how premenstrual dysphoric disorder and stress reactions are related, and this week I'd like to touch on how in women, chronic stress can increase the growth of tumors. To put it simply, chronic stress is absolutely a factor in the accelerated growth of tumors.
Clinical research has shown that these heightened levels of "fight or flight" hormones can permit more malignant (bad) cells to leave the initial tumor. The process of cells leaving the tumor is a necessary step in the progression and metastasis of cancerous tumors. Sood said "when normal cells become detached from neighboring cells or from the supportive scaffolding known as the extracellular matrix, they die from anoikis, a form of programmed cell death." The cancer cells "find a way to bypass anoikis, so they survive as individual cells circulating in the blood or in ascites, fluid that accumulates in the abdomen of ovarian cancer patients." If scientists were able to restore the cells vulnerability for anoikis, tumor growth could be suppressed.
Anil Sood, researcher from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston generated data with ovarian cancer cell lines and tumor specimens showing that the stress hormones of norepinephrine and epinephrine exacerbate the tumor progression in patients living with ovarian cancer. This might show that by targeting stress hormones like cortisol doctors can help benefit cancer patients.
Clinical research has shown that these heightened levels of "fight or flight" hormones can permit more malignant (bad) cells to leave the initial tumor. The process of cells leaving the tumor is a necessary step in the progression and metastasis of cancerous tumors. Sood said "when normal cells become detached from neighboring cells or from the supportive scaffolding known as the extracellular matrix, they die from anoikis, a form of programmed cell death." The cancer cells "find a way to bypass anoikis, so they survive as individual cells circulating in the blood or in ascites, fluid that accumulates in the abdomen of ovarian cancer patients." If scientists were able to restore the cells vulnerability for anoikis, tumor growth could be suppressed.
(see both: Tumor growth exacerbated by stress hormones and Fight or flight response helps tumors to grow for more information.)
Reducing stress could also be a helpful step in tumor suppression.
How can you reduce stress?
1. Take a walk - even just 15 minutes of calm walking can reduce your stress level.
1. Take a walk - even just 15 minutes of calm walking can reduce your stress level.
2. Read a book - it may be a form of escape for you, but one chapter at a time will help.
3. Sing in the shower - even if you can't carry a tune, singing probably makes you happier.
4. Talk to someone - whether it's here at WEGO Health (the Women's Health group has a great discussion forum), on Twitter (I'm there as WEGOSarah) or through IM with a friend, talking to someone about your stress has been proven to reduce it.
5. Remember what you need compared to what you want. You need food, water and to keep warm. Everything else is a preference. When you can keep that in mind, your stress level can be greatly reduced.
How do you relieve your own stress?
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Comment by Janeen on May 19, 2010 at 2:04pm -
Great article Sarah! Thanks for the reminder about how stress can affect our bodies. I think the information here is important so I tweeted your post.
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Comment by Ellen S on May 19, 2010 at 2:10pm -
Wow, this is great information. I had a hysterectomy as a result of pre-cancerous conditions. I also have thyroid and metabolic issues causing stress hormones to run rampant - an I'm not alone in that I know. I'm going to tweet this too, because so many of those in my communities deal with the same issues. I'm also in the middle of a post about brand new research on a new adaptogen that helps with so many of these things. I'm so excited! I'll be sure to reply with a link when it's finished...
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