title: Looking along the track of the psychoneuroimmunologic axis for missing links in cancer progression.
abstract: The present data report on five bereaved cancer patients with initial progression-free disease in respect to natural killer cell activity, beta-endorphin binding capacity of their peripheral blood lymphocytes, and the psychometrically objective parameter depression during widowhood. In bereaved and severely depressed cancer patients, there is a tendency of an earlier onset of decreased natural killer cell activity and a reduced binding affinity of beta-endorphin to peripheral blood lymphocytes. A second set of data obtained from a cancer patient cohort study shows a correlation between the two variables depression and beta-endorphin, profiles are inversely correlated and cancer patients, doing clinically well, state that physical activities counteract possible day-to-day depressive disorders. Taking together the two sets of data, one might speculate that for a definable subgroup of cancer patients physical activities raise endorphin levels and psychological well-being, both of which might modulate the activity of immune competent cells, which leads to an extended period of progression-free disease.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology, University of Witten/Herdecke, Germany.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Zänker
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kroczek
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001601:Bereavement; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000378:metabolism; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011957:Receptors, Opioid / Q000276:immunology; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011957:Receptors, Opioid; D001615:beta-Endorphin