Breast cancer intervention may reduce depression, inflammation

WASHINGTON - A psychological intervention for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with symptoms of depression can not only relieve depression but also lower inflammation, according to a new study.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Centre and involved patients with stage II or III breast cancer, reports sciencedaily.com.

Patients who received psychological therapy that reduced stress and enhanced their ability to cope experienced significant relief of depressive symptoms. Moreover, that improvement was followed by a reduction in markers of inflammation.

“Previously, we knew that inflammation was associated with depression-like symptoms among cancer patients, and that both are problematic, but we did not know whether treating depression would affect inflammation,” says co-author Barbara L. Andersen, professor of psychology.

Inflammation is considered to be a cancer promoting factor, and both depression and inflammation predict increased risk of cancer death.

Patients in the control group received only health and psychological assessments of their condition over the 12-month study period and showed no improvement in depression or inflammation indicators.

“This study shows that by helping breast cancer patients with depression, they will also experience less inflammation,” says study leader William E. Carson.

The findings were published online in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.