Loneliness and stress ‘raise the chances of breast cancer’
Loneliness and stress may play an important role in triggering breast cancer, a study suggests.
Scientists studying cancer-prone rats found that isolation and stress increased their risk of developing breast tumours more than three-fold.
Animals kept on their own grew 84 times more tumours than those which suffered cancer while living in groups. They were also afflicted with more aggressive and deadly forms of the disease.
Scientists believe the findings are relevant to humans. Both rats and humans are naturally sociable and suffer stress when isolated. The biological mechanisms leading to breast cancer are also similar in both species.
Researchers at the University of Chicago compared outcomes of female brown rats which were either kept alone or in small groups. The rats were genetically engineered to be susceptible to breast cancer, and tended to grow tumours in middle age.
The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that rats that lived alone produced higher levels of stress hormones and became more sensitive to stressful situations.
Professor Martha McClintock, a psychologist at the University of Chicago who took part in the study, said: “We need to use these findings to identify potential targets for intervention to reduce cancer and other and its psychological and social risk factors.
“In order to do that, we need to look at the problem from a variety of perspectives, including examining the sources of stress in neighbourhoods as well as the biological aspects of cancer development.”
The study is one of a series by University of Chicago researchers looking at links between social isolation and breast cancer. Previously the same team had shown that anxious and fearful rats were more prone to cancer and death.
Isolation was found to have a much bigger impact on cancer development than heavy consumption of high-energy food, another risk factor for rats.
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6948117.ece
