[Stress and cancer]

Many people regard stress as a risk factor for cancer. Stress may be experienced as everyday stress at work, but also be experienced as a result of a major life event such as the death of close relatives and divorce. These events are observed as having the capacity to change physiological functions to a degree that mutations and carcinogenic related processes may take place. However, studies using data sources, which are almost free of bias do not observe an increased risk of cancer overall or for cancer forms associated with immunological or hormonal aetiology. In studies having access to information on potential confounders, results seem to indicate that the association between stress and cancer may be explained by changes in lifestyle, established as a way of coping with stress.