Stressful life events and difficulties and onset of breast cancer: case-control study
The belief that the onset of cancer may be associated with a stressful experience is found in British, French and American literature as far back as 1701, but in this week’s BMJ researchers from Leeds report that there is no evidence to support the idea that stressful life experiences are associated with the onset of breast cancer.
Dr David Protheroe and colleagues from Leeds General Infirmary and the University of Leeds studied 332 women in the Leeds area. They found that women diagnosed with breast cancer were no more likely to have experienced any more stress in their lives that those diagnosed with a benign breast lump.
Protheroe and colleagues say that stressful life events are common (about two thirds of women with a breast lump experienced at least one severe life event or difficulty in the five years before). They conclude that women with breast cancer can be told that life stresses are unlikely to have played an important part in the development of their disease. However, they also note that any relationship between stress and relapse in women already suffering from breast cancer remains unresolved.
Contact:
Dr David Protheroe, Northern Hospital, Epping, Victoria, Australia Email:dprotheroe@tnh.vic.gov.au