Stress Hormones Raise the Risk of Cancer Recurrence

Stress hormones and certain immune cells called neutrophils may awaken dormant cancer cells, thereby leading to recurrence of tumors even years after treatment as per a study by American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. Data collected from mice and almost 80 patients with lung cancer provided insights into how the cancers return after seemingly being cured with chemotherapy or surgery. This remains the biggest cause of death among cancer patients although the exact biological mechanisms are unclear. Thus, targeting the stress hormones with beta-blockers (approved drugs) demonstrated the prevention of tumor recurrence.

Potential therapy of cancer:

Michela Perego and colleagues found that stress hormones such as norepinephrine reactivated dormant lung and ovarian cancer cells in mice after exposing them to a stressful situation. This rising level of stress hormones caused neutrophils to release a type of proteins – S100A8/A9 and fatty molecules that in turn reawakened tumor cells from dormancy.

On contrary, no activation of tumour cells was observed in stressed-out mice that received an experimental beta-blocker.

Similar expression of S100A8/A9 proteins was also seen in serum samples of 80 patients who had their lung cancers removed surgically but had experienced recurrence 33 months after surgery. Perego et al. say that beta-blockers or compounds that target S100A8/A9 proteins should be evaluated as potential therapies to disrupt the reactivation process, but stress the need for more sophisticated models of tumor cell dormancy.

Source-Medindia