New York, Feb 24 (IANS) In a breakthrough study, researchers have shown how chronic stress can aid in cancer spread. Chronic stress increases the risk of heart disease and strokes, and it is also known to help cancer spread.
The team from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) discovered that stress causes white blood cells called neutrophils to form sticky web-like structures, making body tissues more susceptible to metastasis. The finding, published in the journal Cancer Cell, could lead to new treatment strategies to prevent cancer spread.
Xue-Yan He, a former postdoc at CSHL, emphasized the importance of understanding how stress impacts cancer patients. By mimicking chronic stress in mice with cancer, the team found a significant increase in metastatic lesions when exposed to stress, up to a fourfold increase in metastasis.
Stress hormones called glucocorticoids trigger neutrophils to form spider-web-like structures called NETs (neutrophil extracellular traps), creating a metastasis-friendly environment. Tests removing neutrophils, injecting NET-destroying drugs, and using mice with neutrophils unable to respond to glucocorticoids all showed similar results in reducing metastasis.
According to CSHL Professor Linda Van Aelst, reducing stress should be a crucial component of cancer treatment and prevention. The team speculates that future drugs preventing NET formation could benefit patients whose cancer hasn’t metastasized yet, offering potential relief by slowing or stopping cancer spread.
