Pre-operative [correction of Properative] psychological variables predict immunological status in patients with operable breast cancer

Abstract

In a prospective study of psychobiological responses in patients with operable breast cancer, psychological data were collected one day before surgery and immunological data one day before and seven days after surgery.

Objectives: Explore psychoimmunological correlates related to primary surgical treatment of women with operable breast cancer.

Method: Distress was assessed with Impact of Event Scale (IES), depression with Montgomery-Aasberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), coping with Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale, emotional suppression with Courtauld Emotional Control scale (CECS) and neuroticism with EPQ-N. Number of lymphocytes and subsets of lymphocytes were analyzed using a flow-cytometric method.

Results: Intrusive anxiety and anxious preoccupation were statistically significant inversely correlated to number of lymphocytes, B, T total and T4 lymphocytes and depression to B and T4 lymphocytes using Bonferroni's correction for multiple testing. Multivariate analyses including menopausal status, type of surgery and health behaviour variables demonstrated an independent, inverse effect of depression on total number of lymphocytes, T total and T4 lymphocytes 7 days after surgery. Pre-post immune changes were influenced reversely by depression (decreased) and intrusion (increased).

Conclusions: Psychological parameters have a statistically significant impact on the number of lymphocytes and subsets of lymphocytes.