Stress and cancer. Part I: Mechanisms mediating the effect of stressors on cancer

Abstract

Observations indicating a link between psychosocial stress and cancer can be traced back almost 2 millennia. However, the pathways and mechanisms interconnecting them has only been elucidated in more detail since the end of the 20th century. Importantly, recently accumulated evidences have confirmed the ability of stress to promote the induction and progression of cancer. The main aim of this review is to describe the pathways and mechanisms mediating the stimulatory effects of the neuroendocrine stress response on the induction of cancer, potentiation of cancer growth, and the development of metastases.

Keywords: Cancer; Cortisol; Epinephrine; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis; Neurobiology of cancer; Norepinephrine; Stress; Sympathoadrenal system; β-Blockers.