Psychological correlates of hormone receptor status in breast cancer

Adverse life events and breast cancer: case-control study

“…Hence, severe life events during this time may increase growth and multiplication of cancer cells through alteration of natural immune surveillance processes. This is presumably mediated through the endocrine system 22 23. Alternatively, we may have studied women who had a long history of adverse life events, in which case the psychosocial stress may indeed predate the onset of cancer.…”

Psycho‐oncology: Its aims, achievements and future tasks

“…The LEDS scale was used recently by two independent research teams to examine the effect of stressful events on the course of breast cancer. Although methodologically sound, these studies produced contradictory results: Ramirez et al (1989) reported that severely threatening life events were significantly associated with first recurrence of breast cancer, whereas Barraclough et al (1992) found no such relationship. One possible explanation of this puzzling inconsistency is that any effect of stress on the course of cancer is moderated by the individual's ability to cope with the stressor.…”

Do psychosocial factors influence the course of breast cancer? A review of recent literature, methodological problems and future directions

“…(1990) found that primary breast cancer patients with ERtumors reported more global distress as measured by the SCL-90-R self report scale (Derogatis et al, 1976) compared to patients with ER + tumors. However, as Ramirez and colleagues noted (Ramirez et al, 1990), there were differences in the proportion of patients receiving chemotherapy among those with ER + and ER-tumor, which may have influenced psychological distress. The Ramirez group also reported on the associations between psychosocial factors and ER status (Ramirez et al, 1989).…”