Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2008 Jun;18(3):164-70.
doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2007.12.005. Epub 2007 Dec 8.

Neuroendocrine influences on cancer biology

Premal H Thaker  1 , Anil K Sood
Affiliations
Review

Neuroendocrine influences on cancer biology

Premal H Thaker et al. Semin Cancer Biol. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, epidemiological and clinical studies have linked psychological factors such as stress, chronic depression, and lack of social support to the incidence and progression of cancer. Although the mechanisms underlying these observations are not completely understood, recent molecular and animal studies have begun to identify specific signaling pathways that could explain the impact of neuroendocrine effects on tumor growth and metastasis. This review will highlight the importance of known clinical, molecular, and cellular processes with regard to the neuroendocrine stress effects on tumor biology and discuss possible behavioral and pharmacological interventions to ameliorate these effects and ultimately improve cancer outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Spiegel D, Giese-Davis J. Depression and cancer: mechanisms and disease progression. Biol Psychiatry. 2003;54:269–82. - PubMed
    1. Reiche EM, Nunes SO, Morimoto HK. Stress, depression, the immune system, and cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2004;5:617–25. - PubMed
    1. Dunn AJ. Psychoneuroimmunology: introduction and general perspectives. In: Leonard BE, Miller K, editors. Stress, the immune system, and psychiatry. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd; 1996. pp. 1–16.
    1. Chrousos GP. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immune-mediated inflammation. N Engl J Med. 1995;332:1351–62. - PubMed
    1. Sapolsky R. Why zebras don’t get ulcers: A guide to stress, stress-related diseases, and coping. New York: 1994.

Publication types