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With the fast-paced trends and demands of everyday life, people tend to face a lot of stressors, sometimes resulting in chronic stress.

Chronic stress is a prolonged state of psychological or emotional pressure, often resulting from ongoing situations such as work-related stress, financial difficulties, or long-term health problems.

Unlike acute stress, which is short-lived and can sometimes motivate action, chronic stress persists over an extended period, leading to various adverse effects on physical and mental health. It can increase the risk of conditions like heart disease, stroke, and depression, and it has recently been linked to the progression of diseases like cancer. 

How chronic stress spreads cancer

In a recent study, researchers revealed that stress triggers the formation of web-like structures called NETs or neutrophil extracellular traps by white blood cells known as neutrophils. These NETs create an environment conducive to cancer metastasis.

Mimicking chronic stress in mice with cancer, the researchers observed an increase in metastatic lesions. Further investigations showed that stress hormones prompt neutrophils to form NETs, ultimately promoting the spread of cancer.

The team confirmed stress-induced NET formation by conducting various tests, including neutrophil removal, administration of a NET-destroying drug and using mice with neutrophils unable to respond to stress hormones, all resulting in decreased metastasis in stressed mice.

Stress and cancer predisposition

Chronic stress not only exacerbated cancer spread but also primed lung tissue for cancer development even in mice without cancer. This suggests a predisposition to cancer under stress -- a topic that has been studied by experts over the years.

The implications suggest that stress reduction is an essential component of cancer treatment and prevention strategies. Targeting NET formation could offer new therapeutic avenues to curb cancer metastasis. Drugs inhibiting NET formation might slow or halt cancer spread, providing much-needed relief for patients.