04/19/2025
Letâs dive into this a bit.
Studies are revealing that stress can trigger a cascade of biochemical changes and alter a cancer cellâs environment in a way that may promote its spread. âStress signaling and stress biology really have an impact on most â if not all â of these processes,â says Jennifer Knight, a cancer psychiatrist at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
For about half a century, clinicians have used beta blockers to treat hypertension. By scouring data from patient registries, researchers found that people with cancer who already had been taking certain kinds of beta blockers at the time of diagnosis often had better outcomes, including longer survival times, than those who were not on the medicines.
These trials, which involved dozens of patients, revealed that the tumor cells of those who received the drugs showed fewer molecular signs of being able to spread â a process known as metastasis â less inflammation, and an increase in some tumor-fighting immune cells. For colorectal cancer patients, there were also hints that the intervention could reduce cancer recurrence: Three years after the procedure, cancer returned in two of the 16 patients who received the drugs, compared to six of 18 patients who didnât receive those meds.
Such interventions are also in the works. Bower and her team have conducted clinical trials of mind-body interventions such as yoga and mindfulness meditation with breast cancer survivors, to improve health and promote lasting remission. Theyâve found that these therapies can decrease inflammatory activity in circulating immune cells, and they speculate that this may help to reduce tumor recurrence
And for now, whether stress can increase a personâs risk of developing cancer in the first place, as the ancient Greeks once postulated, remains a mystery. Population studies linking stress to cancer risk are often complicated by other factors, such as smoking, poor nutrition and limited access to health care.
âWe have no definitive way of saying, âIf youâre stressed out, youâre going to develop cancer,ââ says Patricia Moreno, a clinical psychologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and coauthor of an article in the 2023 Annual Review of Psychology about stress management interventions in cancer.
But for people who already have a cancer diagnosis, many researchers argue that the evidence is strong enough to include stress management in clinical practice. On average, cancer patients do not receive psychological therapies that can reduce stress at the level for which they are needed, says Barbara Andersen, a clinical psychologist at Ohio State University. Although they wonât be necessary for every patient, many can benefit from mind-body interventions, she says. âIâm not saying they should be a first priority, but they shouldnât be the last.â
Knowable Magazine
How Stress Shapes Cancerâs Course
Diana Kwon
April 16, 2025
