title: Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Psychological Stress and Cancer.
abstract: Psychological stress is an emotion experienced when people are under mental pressure or encounter unexpected problems. Extreme or repetitive stress increases the risk of developing human disease, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), immune diseases, mental disorders, and cancer. Several studies have shown an association between psychological stress and cancer growth and metastasis in animal models and case studies of cancer patients. Stress induces the secretion of stress-related mediators, such as catecholamine, cortisol, and oxytocin, via the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis or the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). These stress-related hormones and neurotransmitters adversely affect stress-induced tumor progression and cancer therapy. Catecholamine is the primary factor that influences tumor progression. It can regulate diverse cellular signaling pathways through adrenergic receptors (ADRs), which are expressed by several types of cancer cells. Activated ADRs enhance the proliferation and invasion abilities of cancer cells, alter cell activity in the tumor microenvironment, and regulate the interaction between cancer and its microenvironment to promote tumor progression. Additionally, other stress mediators, such as glucocorticoids and oxytocin, and their cognate receptors are involved in stress-induced cancer growth and metastasis. Here, we will review how each receptor-mediated signal cascade contributes to tumor initiation and progression and discuss how we can use these molecular mechanisms for cancer therapy.
authors.forename: Kyeong Jin
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Yu Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yong Ryoul
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Seorim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea. pgsuh@unist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Pann-Ghill
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Matilde Yung
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Follo
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cocco
authors.forename: Sung Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011941:Receptors, Adrenergic / Q000378:metabolism*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D011941:Receptors, Adrenergic