WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., April 11 U.S. medical scientists have discovered the stress hormone epinephrine makes prostate and breast cancer cells resistant to cell death.Researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine said they are the first to report that emotional stress might contribute to the development of cancer and might also reduce the effectiveness of cancer treatments.The study, led by Dr. George Kulik, an assistant professor of cancer biology, was designed to determine whether there is a direct link between stress hormones and changes in cancer cells."Population studies have had contradictory results," said Kulik. "We asked the question: 'If stress is linked to cancer, what is the cellular mechanism?' There had been no evidence that stress directly changes cancer cells." Kulik said the study's findings have several implications for patients and for researchers."It may be important for patients who have increased responses to stress to learn to manage the effects," said Kulik. "And, the results point to the possibility of developing an intervention to block the effects of epinephrine." The research is reported on-line in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.Copyright 2007 by UPI
