Stress causes cancer to grow and spread.
Stress can make cancer grow and spread
A team of experts at New York's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have found that chronic stress leads to the formation of sticky webs of white blood cells known as neutrophils – which make it easier for cancer cells to invade tissues.
The scientists conducted their research on lab mice who had suffered from breast cancer. It was found the risk of the disease spreading further was increased by two to four times when the rodents were placed under stress.
Although the evidence points to stress promoting the growth of cancer, it does not show that stress leads to tumours in the first place.
Stress has also been found to suppress the actions of vital immune cells and makes it easier for cancer cells to reproduce in the lungs.
Researcher Dr. Xue-Yan He said: "Stress is something we cannot really avoid in cancer patients.
"You can imagine if you are diagnosed, you cannot stop thinking about the disease or insurance or family. So it is very important to understand how stress works on us."