Social well-being is associated with less pro-inflammatory and pro-metastatic leukocyte gene expression in women after surgery for breast cancer

Abstract

Purpose Satisfaction with social resources, or “social well-being,” relates to better adaptation and longer survival after breast cancer diagnosis. Biobehavioral mechanisms linking social well-being (SWB) to mental and physical health may involve inflammatory signaling. We tested whether reports of greater SWB were associated with lower levels of pro-inflammatory and pro-metastatic leukocyte gene expression after surgery for non-metastatic breast cancer. Methods Women (N = 50) diagnosed with non-metastatic (0–III) breast cancer were enrolled 2–8 weeks after surgery. SWB was assessed with the Social/Family Well-Being subscale of the FACT-B. Leukocyte gene expression for specific pro-inflammatory (cytokines, chemokines, and COX-2) and pro-metastatic genes (e.g., MMP-9) was derived from microarray analysis. Results Multiple regression analyses controlling for age, stage of disease, days since surgery, education, and body mass index (BMI) found higher levels of SWB related to less leukocyte pro-inflammatory and pro-metastatic gene expression (p < 0.05). Emotional well-being, physical well-being, and functional well-being did not relate to leukocyte gene expression (p > 0.05). Greater SWB remained significantly associated with less leukocyte pro-inflammatory and pro-metastatic gene expression after controlling for depressive symptoms. Conclusions Results have implications for understanding mechanisms linking social resources to health-relevant biological processes in breast cancer patients undergoing primary treatment.

Biobehavioral modulation of the exosome transcriptome in ovarian carcinoma

“…There is a substantial literature linking biobehavioral factors such as stress, depression, and social support to disease progression in a variety of cancers, and the molecular mechanisms underlying these relationships are being elucidated in both clinical and preclinical settings . The current data extend this work in an important new direction by suggesting that longitudinal sampling of exosomes may potentially be applied to track changes in tumor biology that stem from changing biobehavioral conditions (eg, in response to a social support intervention).…”

“…Exosomal signaling enables long-range communication between cells within an organism, and this suggests that exosomal signaling may provide an additional pathway by which biobehavioral processes can influence a cancer's biology and treatment response. 19 There is a substantial literature linking biobehavioral factors such as stress, depression, and social support to disease progression in a variety of cancers, 19,49 and the molecular mechanisms underlying these relationships are being elucidated in both clinical 11,30,34 and preclinical settings. 4,50 The current data extend this work in an important new direction by suggesting that longitudinal sampling of exosomes may potentially be applied to track changes in tumor biology that stem from changing biobehavioral conditions (eg, in response to a social support intervention).…”

Predictors of psychological distress in breast cancer survivors: A biopsychosocial approach

“…Among healthy adults and older people exposed to acute stress, lonelier participants exhibited greater synthesis of TNF‐α and IL‐6 than less lonely participants (Hackett, Hamer, Endrighi, Brydon, & Steptoe, ; Jaremka et al, ). Interestingly, inflammation may increase social withdrawal and consequently decrease social well‐being and increase depression (Jutagir et al, ), since pro‐inflammatory cytokines signal a reduction in social activity (Dantzer, ).…”

“…Among healthy adults and older people exposed to acute stress, lonelier participants exhibited greater synthesis of TNF-α and IL-6 than less F I G U R E 1 Moderating effect of TNF-α on the relation between social support and psychological distress F I G U R E 2 Moderating effect of age on the relation between social support and psychological lonely participants (Hackett, Hamer, Endrighi, Brydon, & Steptoe, 2012;Jaremka et al, 2013). Interestingly, inflammation may increase social withdrawal and consequently decrease social well-being and increase depression (Jutagir et al, 2017), since pro-inflammatory cytokines signal a reduction in social activity (Dantzer, 2009).…”

Bifurcation Analysis of a Mathematical Model of Tumor Growth in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Line

“…Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide [7,8], and it is a heterogeneous disease. Approximately 75% of breast cancer cases are ER+ [14].…”