ReviewComprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology2023
Association between stress, depression or anxiety and cancer: Rapid review of reviews.
Review in Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Resilience interventions for stress-related health outcomes in patients with cancer: Findings from a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Mental Health Conditions and Incident Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study of 402,255 UK Biobank Participants.International journal of cancer · 2026Article
- Fear of cancer recurrence and associated factors in Chinese patients with colorectal cancer: a cross-sectional study.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2025Article
- The Interplay of Chronic Stress and Cancer: Pathophysiology and Implications for Integrated Care.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Review
- Mobile applications offering non-pharmacological therapies aimed at improving the quality of life of cancer patients: a scoping review.Revista brasileira de enfermagem · 2025Article
- Sustainable production of microalgal nanoparticles through green synthesis towards cancer treatment.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Review
- Chronic Psychological Stress in Oncogenesis: Multisystem Crosstalk and Multimodal Interventions.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2025Review
- Feasibility of combining tDCS with exercise for increasing physical activity in people with depression.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Cancer Incidence Among People With a Prior Hospital Record of Depression in Scotland, 1991-2019: A Cohort Study.Cancer medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Causal relationship between psychological factors and hepatocellular carcinoma as revealed by Mendelian randomization.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2024Article
- Configurational analysis of ovarian cancer incidence in 30 provinces of China and its policy implications: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of Laughter Yoga on Stress in Patients with Cancer in a Selected Hospital.Indian journal of palliative careArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Several studies have suggested links between psychological stress, depression or anxiety, and cancer incidence or outcomes. Existing systematic reviews have addressed this question, with differing results. Aims: This rapid systematic umbrella review summarises existing reviews assessing the association between psychological stress, depression or anxiety and cancer incidence or cancer outcomes. Methods: Systematic reviews assessing stress, depression or anxiety and cancer were identified via searches of MEDLINE, PsycInfo and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from 2010 to November 2020. Results: Twelve systematic reviews were included, summarising cohort and case-control studies, most of which adjusted for confounders. Regarding cancer incidence, one large meta-analysis reported a significant association between depression/anxiety and cancer incidence, while another showed a non-significant trend. Two further meta-analyses reported significant associations between stressful life events and cancer incidence. Conversely, two meta-analyses of work stress showed no significant association with cancer incidence. Regarding outcomes among cancer patients, three meta-analyses reported significant associations between depression/anxiety and cancer mortality, while another reported a non-significant trend for depression and cancer recurrence. One meta-analysis reported a significant association between partner bereavement and cancer mortality, while another showed no significant association between work stress and cancer mortality. Conclusions: There is consistent evidence for an association between psychological stress, depression or anxiety and cancer incidence in general populations, and some evidence for an association with mortality in cancer populations. Future research may focus on confirmation of these findings, as well as the role of social support and stress-reducing interventions in buffering against these effects.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.