cancer stress

Stress-Cancer Connection: breakthrough findings present possible explanation for treatment failures

By Barry Bittman, MD

If you’re expecting me to step off the deep end and openly state that stress renders chemotherapy useless, you’re right! That’s precisely what I’m about to discuss.

Researchers in Italy just discovered ground-breaking findings that may help us to better understand why certain antitumor therapies often fail to control cancer.

Sonia Zorzet and colleagues of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies of the University of Udine, Italy recently reported in the highly regarded medical journal, Brain, Behavior and Immunity (1998), the results of a simple experiment that clearly linked stress to chemotherapy treatment failures.

Zorzet’s approach included two phases. She began with two groups of 10 mice each. Both were given injections of lung tumor cells. The degree of spread or metastasis was determined 21 days after tumor implantation by examining the surface of the lungs with a stereo microscope. Mice in the control group were untreated, while the experimental group received 6 days of powdered food containing Cytoxan, a chemotherapy agent used in humans and known to be effective against this type of tumor. The initial results were straight-forward¾ all mice in the control group had detectable tumors by day 21, as opposed to none of the mice that received treatment.

After having established the effectiveness of the drug in the first phase, the second portion of the experiment was carried out, again using two groups of mice. Precise attention to stress reduction in all subjects was maintained, as it had been in the first experiment, by preventing overcrowding, ensuring a normal light/dark cycle to simulate day/night, adhering to a fixed feeding schedule, and minimal handling.

Stay with me for a moment, this is where the breakthrough occurs.

This time, both groups of mice received injections of the tumor and were treated with Cytoxan over a 6 day period. The control group was just treated with Cytoxan, while the experimental subjects were exposed to “restraint stress,” a procedure whereby small plastic boards were tied to the legs of the mice one hour each day during the 6 days of treatment.

To summarize, both groups of mice with tumors were treated with chemotherapy in precisely the same manner, while only one group was exposed to a stressful situation. Rather than jolting the mice with shocks, the scientists elected to simply produce a stressful situation that was considered relatively benign. It is important to note that restraint stress has no effect on survival in mice without cancer.

Zorzet’s findings are not only astonishing, but are highly relevant. If you choose to apply this knowledge, what you are about to learn may just save your life or that of a loved-one.

The scientists demonstrated that survival time was extended in all members of the control group treated with Cytoxan, and 4 out of 17 mice were actually cured. For the mice that additionally experienced restraint stress, the beneficial effects of Cytoxan were completely abolished, and survival was reduced to the level observed in the non-treated group with tumors.

In effect, the above results suggest that restraint stress negatively impacts immune responses that are capable of preventing tumor growth and spread. These findings are supported by earlier research published by Moynihan (1994) that demonstrated stress-induced reductions of T-lymphocytes (white blood cells) leading to substantial increases in metastasis. It is also consistent with Anderson’s findings (1998) that women who perceived the most stress after mastectomies had the lowest levels of natural killer cell activity (white blood cells that seek out and destroy cancer cells).

In simple terms, this research demonstrates that the antitumor effects of a particular cancer fighting agent depend on more than just the drug itself¾ our immune response plays a major role. What’s exciting about this breakthrough is the fact that the latter component, the body’s natural antitumor potential, can be enhanced by stress reduction techniques.

As a strong proponent of “whole person” care, I am frankly astounded by the magnitude of these data. Zorzet’s study most certainly did not reveal a subtle effect. Rather, it demonstrated that stress can result in the complete nullification of an antitumor agent’s capacity to inhibit the growth and spread of cancer.

With this in mind, the medical establishment’s approach to the treatment of individuals with cancer must change. It is senseless to develop cancer treatment strategies without including approaches for helping individuals to reestablish a sense of peace of mind through stress reduction and coping techniques.

It is also clear that the perception of stress is not a minor component in the development of the composite immune response needed to conquer cancer. I’m convinced that Norman Cousins would have been fascinated with these findings that lend new meaning to his classic statement, “beliefs are biology.”

In conclusion, the expanding body of scientific evidence supporting the intricate links between mind, body and spirit continues to shed new light on our understanding of maintaining and reestablishing the gift of a healthy life. The power of the mind-body alliance and it’s ability to fight cancer should never be underestimated¾ Mind over Matter!