Head and shoulders photograph of Mel Flint

In this talk, ⁠Professor Melanie Flint⁠, discusses the impact of exposure to psychological stress, which produces a response involving the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, and how this may be related to the progression of cancer. While our bodies adapt to acute stress, prolonged exposure to stress due to chronic stressors may lead to long-term damage.

Although many risk factors have been associated with the progression of cancer, stress hormones are highly potent and can interact with almost every cell in the body including normal, cancer, and immune cells.  Professor Flint’s work at the University of Brighton and, before that at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, has shown that DNA can be damaged as a result of stress, leading to cell transformation. These stressors generally result in an increased and prolonged release of stress hormones that may contribute to cancer initiation, progression and spread.

By understanding if chronic stress may contribute to cancer it would be possible to offer more opportunities to patients for stress interventions to help stop the progression of the disease. Professor Flint’s teams are focused on providing evidence for this, with interventions across stress DNA damage, stress and gene changes, and cancer therapies that boost the immune system. 

Professor Flint’s approach is to demystify these areas of research, enabling people to feel more engaged in the prevention of cancer and in the way that they respond to it. Her talk will be helpful to anyone who is concerned about the impact of stress on their health.