Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42222425›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in oncology2026

Chronic psychosocial stress: a role in breast cancer etiology?

Roar Fosse, Cathrine Behr

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Roar FosseDepartment of Research and Development, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Vestre Viken Hospital Trust, Drammen, Norway.
Cathrine BehrPrivate Practitioner, Asker, Norway.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Epidemiological and preclinical studies are discrepant regarding the role of psychosocial stress in breast cancer (BC) development and metastasis. While no consensus has been reached based on epidemiological studies, preclinical rodent studies regularly employ chronic psychosocial stress paradigms to study mechanistic details in mammary carcinogenesis and metastasis. We aimed to review both epidemiological and preclinical studies of psychosocial stress in BC development, focusing on whether chronic psychosocial stress might be a particularly relevant stressor domain. Methods: For Results: Systematic literature searches identified 29 rodent studies that randomly allocated rodents to chronic psychosocial stress or safety. Twenty-five of the 29 studies found that chronic psychosocial stress increased mammary tumorigenesis and/or metastasis, with the remaining studies reporting more complex effects that reflected variations in study design elements. In contrast, most original research studies included in 14 systematic reviews and meta-analyses of epidemiological research focused on short-lasting, adverse life events, with no consistent associations detected with BC. Epidemiological studies have only partly and unsystematically addressed chronic psychosocial stress. Conclusions: Findings from preclinical rodent studies indicate that chronic psychosocial stress may be a particularly relevant psychosocial exposure domain in BC development. In contrast, the epidemiological studies we reviewed focused predominantly on acute adverse life events, with limited attention to chronic psychosocial stress. We suggest that this evidence highlights the need to prioritize chronic psychosocial stress in future epidemiological studies of BC etiology. Actionable method components may include a life-course perspective for stress exposure, a multi-level social interaction perspective, inclusion of both chronic and acute stress and their interactions, and inclusion of individuals' subjective appraisals of distress.

Indexed as

breast cancerchronic psychosocial stressepidemiologyetiologypreclinical rodent research

Identifiers

PMID42222425
PMCPMC13215824

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.