Context: Symptom researchers have proposed a model of inflammatory cytokine activity and dysregulation in cancer to explain co-occurring symptoms including pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance.

Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that psychological stress accentuates inflammation and that stress and inflammation contribute to one's experience of the pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance symptom cluster (symptom cluster severity, symptom cluster distress) and its impact (symptom cluster interference with daily life, quality of life).

Methods: We used baseline data from a symptom cluster management trial. Adult participants (N = 158) receiving chemotherapy for advanced cancer reported pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance on enrollment. Before intervention, participants completed measures of demographics, perceived stress, symptom cluster severity, symptom cluster distress, symptom cluster interference with daily life, and quality of life and provided a blood sample for four inflammatory biomarkers (interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and C-reactive protein).

Results: Stress was not directly related to any inflammatory biomarker. Stress and tumor necrosis factor-α were positively related to symptom cluster distress, although not symptom cluster severity. Tumor necrosis factor-α was indirectly related to symptom cluster interference with daily life, through its effect on symptom cluster distress. Stress was positively associated with symptom cluster interference with daily life and inversely with quality of life. Stress also had indirect effects on symptom cluster interference with daily life, through its effect on symptom cluster distress.

Conclusion: The proposed inflammatory model of symptoms was partially supported. Investigators should test interventions that target stress as a contributing factor in co-occurring pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance and explore other factors that may influence inflammatory biomarker levels within the context of an advanced cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5899940PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.01.008DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

symptom cluster
64
pain fatigue
20
fatigue sleep
20
cluster interference
20
interference daily
20
daily life
20
symptom
17
sleep disturbance
16
cluster
16
cluster distress
16

Similar Publications

Background: Evans syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by the simultaneous or sequential combination of autoimmune hemolytic anemia and immunological thrombocytopenia, together with a positive direct antiglobulin test. This syndrome, which can be primary or secondary, is a rare initial manifestation of autoimmune diseases, notably systemic lupus erythematosus, with 1.7-2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome is a monogenic type 1 interferonopathy with infantile onset, characterized by a variable degree of neurological damage. Approximately 7% of Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome cases are caused by pathogenic variants in the ADAR gene and are classified as Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome type 6. Here, we present a new homozygous pathogenic variant in the ADAR gene.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

HIF-1α mediates hypertension and vascular remodeling in sleep apnea via hippo-YAP pathway activation.

Mol Med

December 2024

Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No.3 East Qingchun Road, Hangzhou, 310020, Zhejiang, China.

Background: Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is associated with hypertension and vascular remodeling. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and the Hippo-YAP pathway are implicated in these processes, but their specific roles remain unclear. This study investigated the HIF-1α/Hippo-YAP pathway in SAS-related hypertension.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: To compare the effectiveness of four surveillance strategies for detecting SARS-CoV-2 within the homeless shelter population in Hamilton, ON and assess participant adherence over time for each surveillance method.

Methods: This was an open-label, cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in eleven homeless shelters in Hamilton, Ontario, from April 2020 to January 2021. All participants who consented to the study and participated in the surveillance were eligible for testing by self-swabbing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Leveraging human microbiomes for disease prediction and treatment.

Trends Pharmacol Sci

December 2024

Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address:

The human microbiome consists of diverse microorganisms that inhabit various body sites. As these microbes are increasingly recognized as key determinants of health, there is significant interest in leveraging individual microbiome profiles for early disease detection, prevention, and drug efficacy prediction. However, the complexity of microbiome data, coupled with conflicting study outcomes, has hindered its integration into clinical practice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!