Premorbid psychological factors as related to cancer incidence

Fox, Bernard H.

doi:10.1007/bf00846586

Cited by 241 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 222 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…While there are links between cancer and stress and cancer and the central nervous system mediated by the immune system, these are a long way from global personality variables and psychological treatments (e.g. (50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)). The relationship between personality and psychopathological constructs and the onset or progression of cancer is itself far from clear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Spontaneous Regression of Cancer: A review of cases from 1900 to 1987

1990

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Spontaneous Regression of Cancer: A review of cases from 1900 to 1987

1990

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Also, it is known that the risk of cancer increases with age, and as the immune system ages it becomes less efficient. It has been suggested that psychological and stress factors may be most relevant for middle-aged persons (ages 35-65) rather than for very young or very old persons, because of the disproportionate influence of hereditary factors on young cancer patients and the influence of aging factors on older persons (Fox, 1978).…”

Section: Methodology: Maximizing the Signal To Noise Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

A biobehavioral model of cancer stress and disease course.

Andersen¹,

Kiecolt‐Glaser²,

Glaser³

1994

American Psychologist

388

246

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Approximately 1 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year and must cope with the disease and treatments. Many studies have documented the deteriorations in quality of life that occur. These data suggest that the adjustment process is burdensome and lengthy. There is ample evidence showing that adults experiencing other long-term stressors experience not only high rates of adjustment difficulties (e.g., syndromal depression) but important biologic effects, such as persistent downregulation of elements of the immune system, and adverse health outcomes, such as higher rates of respiratory tract infections. Thus, deteriorations in quality of life with cancer are underscored if they have implications for biological processes, such as the immune system, relating to disease progression and spread. Considering these and other data, a biobehavioral model of adjustment to the stresses of cancer is offered, and mechanisms by which psychological and behavioral responses may influence biological processes and, perhaps, health outcomes are proposed. Finally, strategies for testing the model via experiments testing psychological interventions are offered.Cancer is a major health problem, accounting for 23% of all deaths in the United States. Although death rates from heart diseases, stroke, and other conditions have been decreasing, deaths due to cancer have risen 20% in the past 30 years (American Cancer Society [ACS], 1993). This "big picture" holds for the major sites of disease, including lung, breast, and prostate cancer, for which death rates have shown large increases. The number-one killer, lung cancer, has shown huge increases in age-adjusted death rates in the past 30 years-an increase of 121% for men and 415% for women. The second most common site of cancer for men, prostate, has shown a 12% increase in the death rate. For women, breast cancer accounts for 32% of all new cases. During this decade alone, more than 1.5 million women (1 in 9) will be diagnosed and 30% of these women will die from the disease. Other sobering statistics indicate that since 1980 there has been a 24% increase in breast cancer incidence; despite major clinical studies (including trials of dramatic treatments, e.g., bone marrow transplantation), breast cancer mortality rates have been stable for the past 20 years. In sum, increasing numbers of individuals are being diagnosed, undergo difficult therapies, and somehow cope with 5-year relative survival rates of 53% for White Americans and 38% for Black Americans (ACS, 1993).Although there are notable exceptions (e.g., Bard & Sutherland, 1952;Fox, 1976), research programs conducted by psychologists on the behavioral and psychological aspects of cancer did not begin in earnest until the late 1970s. Yet considerable advances have been made in describing the difficulties cancer patients face and examining the processes of adjustment (see discussions in Andersen, 1989; Cancer, 1991, Vol. 67, No. 3 Supplement) NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manus...

show abstract

“…A number of very useful and comprehensive reviews of psychosocial risk factors in cancer are available (13,26,31,44,46,47,48,78,121,129,136,166); some authors have offered particularly good analyses of methodological problems (e.g. 46,136).…”

Section: Cancermentioning

confidence: 99%