Within-person changes in cancer-related distress predict breast cancer survivors’ inflammation across treatment

Background: Among breast cancer survivors, elevated inflammation has been linked to greater recurrence risk. Psychological processes, such as cancer-related distress, can pose threats to a survivor's longevity and wellbeing. Although distress can heighten inflammation, little is known about how fluctuations in distress during and after treatment impact a woman's own inflammation – the primary question of this study. Methods: Breast cancer survivors (n = 165, stages 0-III) completed a baseline visit before treatment and two follow-up visits 6 and 18 months after. At each visit, women completed the Impact of Events Scale to assess cancer-related distress, and a blood sample was collected to measure proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-8. This longitudinal study related fluctuations in survivor's own cancer-related distress (i.e., within-person effects), as well as average effects of cancer-related distress between survivors (i.e., between-person effects) to inflammatory changes across visits. Results: Women had elevated inflammation at visits where they expressed more cancer-related distress than what was typical. In contrast, the average cancer-related distress was not associated with inflammation. Conclusion: Larger increases in a women's cancer-related distress was linked with higher inflammation across visits. Comparing a survivor's own cancer-related distress to her average levels may prove useful in identifying links between distress and inflammation.