title: Stress, catecholaminergic system and cancer.
abstract: Stress as a modern civilization factor significantly affects our lives. While acute stress might have a positive effect on the organism, chronic stress is usually detrimental and might lead to serious health complications. It is known that stress induced by the physical environment (temperature-induced cold stress) can significantly impair the efficacy of cytotoxic chemotherapies and the anti-tumor immune response. On the other hand, epidemiological evidence has shown that patients taking drugs known as β-adrenergic antagonists ("β-blockers"), which are commonly prescribed to treat arrhythmia, hypertension, and anxiety, have significantly lower rates of several cancers. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about catecholamines as important stress hormones in tumorigenesis and discuss the use of β-blockers as the potential therapeutic agents.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Clinical and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences , Bratislava , Slovakia ;|b Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic ;
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Krizanova
authors.affiliation: b Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic ;
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Babula
authors.affiliation: c Development, Endocrinology, and Tumor Genetics Affinity Group, Section on Medical Neuroendocrinology , Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda , MD , USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pacak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D009638:Norepinephrine; D004837:Epinephrine
keywords: Adrenergic receptors; catecholamines; dopamine; epinephrine; norepinephrine; stress; tumor; β-blockers