When Under Stress, Cancer Cells Form Tissue Networks: How to Protect Yourself

Chronic stress has been shown to contribute to the development of cancer cells. Here's what doctors recommend to reduce it.

Stress is a part of everyday life, and learning to manage it is important. Chronic stress doesn't just increase the risk of heart problems, obesity, and strokes, it also helps cancer spread. Research shows that chronic stress can speed up the spread of tumor cells.

When the body is under constant stress, it produces high levels of stress hormones like glucocorticoids. These hormones affect certain immune cells, called neutrophils, which normally fight infections. Under prolonged stress, neutrophils release substances that form sticky, web like structures called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). 

These NETs make it easier for cancer cells to settle in tissues and spread. Stressed tissues become more vulnerable to cancer.

A study at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York looked at how stress affects cancer patients. Mice with breast or pancreatic cancer, whose main tumors had been removed, developed up to four times more metastases (new cancer growths) when exposed to long term stress compared to mice that weren't stressed.

Researchers found that the stressed mice had more stress hormones in their blood and more NETs in their tissues.

To confirm the link between NETs and cancer spread, scientists did more experiments. They either removed the immune cells responsible for NETs or altered them so they couldn't respond to stress hormones. In both cases, the mice didn't develop extra metastases despite being stressed. Without NETs, tumor cells couldn't spread.

Even healthy mice exposed to chronic stress showed NET formation and tissue changes, which could increase the risk of developing cancer later. "Stress essentially prepares the tissue to be more susceptible to cancer," explains study leader Mikala Egeblad.

This research suggests new possibilities for preventing and treating cancer, such as developing drugs to block NETs. These treatments could slow the spread of cancer, especially in patients with localized tumors.

Managing stress is also key. Reducing stress or learning to cope with it better could lower the risk of cancer spreading and improve overall health.