title: Chronic stress accelerates ultraviolet-induced cutaneous carcinogenesis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Physical and emotional stressors have been found to mediate a wide variety of biological changes including the facilitation of tumor progression; however most of these paradigms utilized artificial sources of neoplasms and stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  Skh mice were exposed to carcinogenic doses of ultraviolet light (UV). The stressed group was subjected to the close proximity of fox urine as a source of stress from the presence of the odor of their natural predator, while the control group remained stress free.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant acceleration in the development of cutaneous neoplasms was observed in mice that had been exposed to the stressor. The first tumor appeared in the group after 8 weeks, whereas nonstressed mice began to develop these by week 21.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that stress plays a role in potentiating cutaneous carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: Sabra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Martha K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: McClintock
authors.forename: Warwick L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Morison
authors.forename: Xaobu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Claudio J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Carlos H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Nousari
authors.forename: Francisco A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Tausk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008812:Mice, Hairless; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000209:etiology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000150:complications*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects*