Skin cancer patients whose childhood included periods of neglect or maltreatment are at a much greater risk for their cancers to return when they face a major stressful event, based on a new study. The research suggests that such experiences during a person’s youth can set a lower level of immune response for life, which in turn might make them more susceptible to the kind of cancers that are often successfully fought by the immune system, so-called immunogenic tumors. While the research focused on patients with a fairly benign form of skin cancer -- basal cell carcinoma (BCC) -- the findings appear as a warning for patients to be more vigilant in concerns over their health for the rest of their lives. The study appears in the June 4, 2012, issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry and is the latest in three decades of research linking stress and immunity that have been led by investigators at Ohio State University’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research (IBMR).
