Researchers at the Stanford School of Medicine have found that short term stress, including things like public speaking, job interview, first dates and healthy work stress can actually boosts the immune system and may offer protection against one type of skin cancer, at least in mice and potentially in humans.
Acute stress has been shown to galvanize the immune system, while chronic stress has long been thought to weaken immunity and increase the risk of disease.
For the research, 30 lab mice were exposed to doses of cancer-causing ultraviolet light for ten weeks. The light didn’t cause blisters or burns, but rather left the subjects with only a slight reddening of the skin after exposure.
One group of mice was also subjected to nine periods of short-term stress, confined in a well-ventilated plastic tube that limited how much they could move. This method is known to bring on a behavioral and hormonal stress response in mice. Each stress period lasted 2.5 hours. A second group of mice were not stressed in order to provide controls for the research.
When the stressed and non-stressed mice were compared, fewer of the acutely stressed mice developed squamous cell carcinoma (the second most common form of skin cancer) during the ten weeks that followed the study period. The stressed mice that did develop tumors had noticeably fewer than the non-stressed mice.
“This is the first evidence that this type of short-lived stress may enhance anti-tumor activity,” explains Firdaus Dhabhar, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, and a member of Stanford’s Cancer Center and Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection.
“This is a promising new way of thinking that calls for more research. We hope that it will eventually lead to applications that help us to care for those who are ill, by maximally harnessing the body’s natural defenses while also using other medical treatments.”
Interestingly, the protective effect wasn’t permanent. After week 22 of observation about 90% of mice of both groups developed skin cancer. The mice that had been stressed continued to have fewer tumors for an additional four weeks.
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Short Term Stress Might Protect Against Skin Cancer Continued…
What’s more, the skin of the stressed mice had higher levels of immune-activating genes than the non-stressed mice.
As the most common form of cancer in the United States, skin cancer can happen to anyone, at any time, even if you’re free from risk factors (fair complexion, family history, severe sunburn or age) known to make this form of cancer more likely. An estimated 1 million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year.
Always talk to your doctor about any growth on your skin that bleeds or doesn’t heal. Experts also suggest you look over your skin (using a mirror as necessary) on a regular basis for any mole, sore or skin growth that appears or changes. Watch for:
Asymmetry – one half of the area in question is different than the other.
Border – the outlines of the area are irregular
Color – can vary from one area to another in shades of tan, brown or black, sometimes even white, red or blue
Diameter – almost always bigger than 6 mm (about the size of a pencil eraser)
The intriguing findings from this research will be published in a future print issue of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
Daily Health Bulletin
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